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V, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, 



HANCOCK "THE SUPERB." 



THE 

EARLY LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER 



OP 

Winfield S. Hancock, 

Major-General U. S. A. 

THE IMPOSING RECORD OF A PROGRESSIVE AND BRILLIANT 

CAREER; A STRIKING ILLUSTRATION OF THE MARCH OF 

GENIUS UNDER FREE INSTITUTIONS: WITH A FULL 

AND GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS 

AT THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION: THE PLAT- 

FORM, TABLES OF BALLOTS, ETC. WITH 

ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 

• 

INCLUDING ALSO 

A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

HON. WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 



%it\lg %mh\\h\d wiiff trt&ttj $[iu piuiniUn* 



THE WHOLE PREPARED WITH GREAT CARE 
BY 

Rev. C. W. DENISON, 

LATE CHAPLAIN U. S. A., 
AND 

Capt. G. B. HERBERT, 

JOURNALIST. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED BY H. W. KELLEY, 

711 Sansom Street. 






Copyright, 
H. W. KELLEY. 

1880. 



PEEEACE. 



rpHE pure patriotism, brilliant military genius, sound 
•*■ civilian statesmanship, and dauntless personal courage 
of Winfield Scott Hancock, equally with his stainless 
social record in mature life, his affectionate obedience to 
parental commands in youth, and his reverential regard 
for and memory of his boyhood's preceptor, as shadowed 
forth in the following pages of an impartial biography, 
render him at once an ornament to this nation, an honor 
to his native State, and a glowing ensample to the boys, 
the youth, and the men of America. His name and fame 
are as inseparably interwoven with the history of this 
great Republic as are those of tne immortal George 
Washington. It was the fortune of the latter to have 
consecrated the " Stars and Stripes ;" it was the destiny 
of the former to preserve that glorious flag from being 
rent into tatters during the temporary aberration which, 
at a critical period, afflicted several States of the Union. 
The name of Hancock blazes brilliantly amid the galaxy 
of names on the records of Revolutionary days, and its 
present wearer has added to that lustre by deeds of daring, 
acts of gentleness, and proofs of high and spotless integ- 
rity. In dealing with the sad and stormy scenes of Seces- 

iii 



iv PREFACE. 

sion's strife, we have endeavored so to tone and mellow 
the bitter memories of that epoch that even those, to 
whom such memories are especially painful, will admit 
that the facts we present are excerpts from the history of 
their nation and of ours alike, and join with us in accepting 
the fitness of the title we have adopted, " Hancock the 
Superb." That a career so exceptionably perfect should 
be crowned by the highest gift at the disposal of the 
people, would seem to be but simple justice ; one of those 
episodes which sometimes demonstrate " the eternal fitness 
of things." It is, therefore, in no partisan spirit, but with 
a sense of broad-viewed, national policy, that we trust one 
more title, that grandest of all titles, " Elected President 
of a Republic of Sovereigns," may yet be bestowed upon 
the noble man whom we now know and respect as Major- 
General Winfield Scott Hancock. With this brief 
preface, we submit this volume to the friendly criticism of 
his fellow-citizens North, South, East, and West. 

G. B. H. 

Philadelphia, July 1st, 1880. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I, pAal . 

Sketch of Norristown, where his Youth was Passed — The Glorious 
Memories of the Surroundings — Valley Forge — The Illustrious 
Pedigree of our Hero, Winfield Scott Hancock . . . .11 

CHAPTER II. 

The Schoolboy Days of Hancock — His early Military Predilections 
— His Youthful Friendships — The Permanent Impress of a good 
Home Moulds his Character — "Why, that big Boy out there 
Tried to Whip Me, and I was n't going to let Him " . .21 

CHAPTER III. 

The Mimic Battles of his Boyhood Foreshadow his Gallant Career 
— His Noble Defence of a Young Playmate, and their Meeting in 
after Years, when Both had earned Distinction — "A Good Sol- 
dier Knows no Party but his Country " 29 

CHAPTER IY. 

An Interesting Episode which had much to do with Shaping the 
Destiny of Young Hancock — The Ill-Treatment of a Horse by a 
Drayman leads indirectly to a Cadetship for the Future General, 41 

CHAPTER Y. 

Winfield Scott Hancock as a West Point Cadet — He Meets his Illus- 
trious Namesake — His Creditable Progress at the Academy — His 
Industry, His Truthfulness, and High Sense of Honor — An Il- 
lustration of his Humorous Vein — "Jineing the Pint" . . 53 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Brief Sketch of Montgomery County, Rich in its Revolutionary 
Associations — A County to be proud of, and a County that is 
1* (T) 



VI CONTENTS. 

PASS 

proud of its Distinguished Son, the Present Nominee for the Pres- 
idency of the United States 59 

CHAPTER VII. 

Winfield Graduates — His Gallant Career in the Mexican War — 
Churubusco — Molino del Rey — Chapultepec — Toluca — The Com- 
plimentary Resolutions of the Pennsylvania Legislature — The 
Fleshing of his Maiden Sword 63 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Promoted to be Adjutant — His Selection of a Beautiful and Ac- 
complished Life Partner — Their two Olive Branches, and the sad 
Cypress Wreath — His good old Schoolmaster . . . .75 

CHAPTER IX. 

Among the "Everglades" — Stationed in the Mormon District — 
His Experiences in California — The coming Storm met by his 
fearless Patriotism 82 

CHAPTER X. 

The Stars and Bars vs. the Stars and Stripes — Winfield Scott Han- 
cock Rises to the Occasion — The Soldier-Statesman who Knew no 
Politics but the Policy of the Union, Earning the Right to Become 
the First of American Citizens 92 

CHAPTER XI. 

A ripe Military Man, a true Patriot, and an Unflinching Loyalist — 
His further Promotion at the Instance of General McClellan — His 
long March across the Continent from Benicia 100 

CHAPTER XII. 

His Brigade on the Potomac — His quiet Method of Dealing with 
Spies — The Actual Opening of the Dread Fraternal Strife — Han- 
cock's Presence everywhere the Signal for Enterprise and Ac- 
tivity 106 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The Campaign of 1862 — The Valley of the Shenandoah — Burnside 
at Roanoke Island — Big Bethel — A " Sick Man " inconveniently 
Captured— "My Husband's Aunt Betty" 118 



CONTENTS. Vil 

CHAPTER XIV. 

FAME 

Hancock at Yorktown — One of the Decisive Issues of the War — 
" Wave, Richmond, all thy Banners Wave ! " but still they Waved 
in Vain — Hancock Breveted Major in the United States Regular 
Army 128 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Brilliant Victory at Williamsburg — "Gentlemen, Charge!" — 
The Field on which Hancock Earned the Title of "Superb" — 
The Enemy Routed out of their Entrenchments .... 140 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Hancock's Correspondence with his Family — The Modest Soldier — 
The Faithful Son — The Affectionate Brother— The Civilian in 
the Midst of Strife 148 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Terrible Struggles of Garnett's Hill, Savage's Station, and 
White Oak Swamp — Hancock as Major-General of Volunteers — 
The Return from the Peninsula 153 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hancock a Colonel in the Regular Army — The Sanguinary Onset 
at Antietam — The Enemy driven back to Virginia — An Episode 
of Grim Humor — A Union Colonel in his First Fight . . . 157 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Hancock at Fredericksburg — The Passage of the Rappahannock — 
Terrible Slaughter of the Union Troops — Hancock's Line Im- 
pregnable — His Care for his Wounded Men 168 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Bloody Battle of Chancellorsville — Hancock's Bold Charge 
puts the Enemy's Solid Column to Flight — General Hancock 
Assigned to the Command of the Second Corps U. S. A. . . 182 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Invasion of Pennsylvania and Maryland — The Famous 
Heights of Gettysburg — " The Army of the Potomao " Confronts 
Lee's, and Prepares for Battle 189 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXII. PAGE 

The Furious Fight at Gettysburg — General Hancock, with the 
Second Army Corps, in the Centre of the Battle — Colonel Ran- 
dall and the Gallant Thirteenth Vermont — " Colonel, can you 
take that Battery ? " "I can, Sir." — Hancock Severely 
Wounded 197 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

General Hancock at Home after the Battle — The Wounded Hero 
an Objeot of Adoration — An Elegant and Costly Testimonial 
from the Friends of his Youth — Once more at the Front . . 209 

CHAPTER XXIY. 

Ordered to Washington — His Headquarters at Harrisburg — In- 
spiring Address to the Citizens of his Native State — The City 
Councils of Philadelphia Honor Pennsylvania's Son — Reception 
in Independence Hall 217 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Hancock's Campaign with Grant — He is made Major-General of 
Volunteers — The Fight in the Wilderness — Our Hero again 
Wounded — Generals Stuart and Johnson, the Prisoners of his 
Command — Affecting Meeting with Old Companions . . .226 

CHAPTER XXYI. 

General Hancock in the Advanced Front in Spottsylvania — Another 
Glorious Charge and Another Brilliant Victory to add to his Noble 
Record 238 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Lee Falls back before the Advance of the Second Army Corps — Ewell 
and Longstreet Retreat as Hancock nears them — Only Fourteen 
Miles from Richmond — On the Banks of the Pamunkey — A 
Midnight Assault Repulsed 246 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

On the Banks of the Famous Chickahominy — Capture of the Ford 
at Taylor's Bridge — Cold Harbor, Bottom's Bridge, and the 
James River — "On to Richmond \" % 260 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Hancock's Siege-Lines Closing in on the Confederate Capital — 
Hancock Carries Bottom's Bridge at the Point of the Bayonet — 
The Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair Presents a Sword to Gen- 
eral Hancock 268 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The Second Army Corps Advancing on Petersburg — General Meade 
Congratulates General Hancock — Closing in upon Richmond — 
A Magnificent Ruse and a Midnight Surprise .... 280 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Weldon Railroad Captured — Atlanta Reduced — The Victory 
at Winchester — Hancock's Command, Alone and Unaided, Re- 
pulses the Enemy and Retains the Weldon Road — Bayonet to 
Bayonet, the Foe are driven back — One of the Most Desperate 
Struggles of the War . .296 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Battle of Gettysburg described by General Hancock — Full De- 
tails of the Fight that Saved Philadelphia — The Order that Placed 
General Hancock over General Howard — The Second and Third 
Divisions of the Second Corps Bear the Brunt of Battle . . 311 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Brigadier-General Hancock — Battles of Tolopatomoy Creek, North 
Anna, Cold Harbor, the Sanguinary Chickahominy, Deep Bot- 
tom, Reams's Station, and Boydton Plank-Road — The End of his 
Fighting Career — An Important Mission Conferred upon him . 323 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

In Washington — The Organization of the First Army Veteran 
Corps — Hancock a Major-General — In Charge of the Middle 
Military Division — He has Charge of Washington after the As- 
sassination of President Lincoln — The Sm-ratt Matter . . 338 

CHAPTER XXXY. 

Sketches and Anecdotes — "Jirieing the Pint" — Hancock as a 
Cadet, as a Junior Officer, and as a Commander — "I always 
Know where to find Hancock," (Gen. Grant.) — The Magic In- 
fluence of his Presence on the Field 345 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. PXOH 

Hancock a Major-General — His Military Command in the South — 
The Celebrated " General Orders No. 40 " — His Support of Civil 
Authority — Military Rule Subservient to Constitutional Law — 
The Civilian Soldier Demonstrating his Statesmanship . . 356 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The Celebrated Letter to Governor Pease, of Texas — General Han- 
cock's Careful Exposition of the Relation between the Military 
and the Civil Administration — A Valuable and Remarkable 
Document 363 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Hancock's Policy of Reconstruction too honest for the Carpet-Bag 
element — His Command of the Atlantic Division — Transferred 
to Dakota — Resumes Command of the Military Division of the 
Atlantic — His Political Record 382 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The Cincinnati Convention, which Nominated Major-General Win- 
field Scott Hancock, U. S. A., for President of the United States, 
June 24, 1880 .389 

CHAPTER XL. 

William H. English, op Indiana. 
Nominated for Vice-President of the United States by the Cincin- 
nati Convention of 1880 — Sketch of his Life — A Native Indi- 
anian — Early Career — Political Record — Services in Congress 
— The Kansas-Nebraska Bill — Commercial Life . . .417 

CHAPTER XLI. 
Conclusion 429 



HANCOCK "THE SUPERB," 

THE LAWYER'S SON. 



CHAPTER I. 

Sketch of Norristown, where his Youth was Passed — The Glorious 
Memories of the Surroundings — Valley Forge — The Illustrious 
Pedigree of our Hero, Winfield Scott Hancock. 

ON the 14th of February, 1824, in a retired part 
of the County of Montgomery, near Montgom- 
ery Square, Pennsylvania, Winfield Scott Han- 
cock was born. He is the son of Benjamin 
Franklin and Elizabeth Hancock, who were also 
natives of Montgomery County. His twin-brother, 
Hilary Baker, is a resident of Minneapolis, Min- 
nesota, where he has been for some years engaged 
in the practice of law. The only remaining bro- 
ther, Major John Hancock, was in the Army of the 
Potomac during the late unhappy civil war. These 
three are all the children of this branch of the Han 
cock family. 

(11) 



12 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

At the age of four years Winfield removed, with 
his parents, to Norristown, Pennsylvania, a beautiful 
borough, finely located on the sloping banks of the 
Schuylkill river, about twenty miles from Philadel- 
phia. It is the shire town of Montgomery county. 
Last census it contained a population of 10,753. 
The court-house is well situated, on a commanding 
eminence, and built of the handsome gray marble 
of the vicinity. Its spire, which resembles that of 
some modern churches, is seen from a considerable 
distance, and forms an attractive object in the central 
portion of the town. There are several churches, 
some of which are quite elegant in appearance. The 
streets are nearly all wide, straight, and generally 
laid out at right angles. Some of them are finely 
shaded with trees. One of the principal thorough- 
fares has beautiful rows, the clean trunks and shady 
branches of which reflect credit on the common sense 
and good taste of the citizens. The banks, newspa- 
pers, hotels, markets, and other town appliances, be- 
token the activity and conveniences of the people. 
There are eight newspapers, one a daily, which circu- 
late widely through the adjacent country, while the 
daily papers of Philadelphia and New York find 
numerous and constant readers, in a few hours after 
they leave their presses. The public schools, which 



SKETCH OF NORRISTOWN. 13 

have been established several years, are abundant 
and well conducted. There are some good seminaries, 
finely situated in the outskirts of the town, which 
afford the best facilities for male and female education. 

Owing to its being favored with a court house, and 
the strong stone jail 'appurtenance thereunto belong- 
ing,' Norristown has a liberal supply of gentlemen 
of the legal profession. Their numerous signs give 
evidence of the things signified in all the most 
frequented places. A somewhat amusing instance 
of the abundance of this highly valuable class of 
the community, in this quarter, occurred with the 
author. 

We were returning from a visit to the market, 
whither we had gone before sunrise, in order that we 
might note its peculiarities and its patrons' habits, 
and had just turned a corner by the court-house, 
when a countryman accosted us : 

"Maybe you're a strenger in Norristown?" 

" Yes, sir," was our reply. 

" Maybe you was 'quirin' 'bout the prices in mer- 
ket?" 

" Yes, sir," we again answered. 

"Maybe you're a lawyer?" said he, looking at us 
with great reverence. 

"No, sir!" we replied, not a little surprised at the 



U WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

question, and quickly adding: "What made you 
think so?" 

" Why, strenger," he concluded, continuing to look 
steadily at us, "you've got such a honest face!" 

Completely overcome, we turned away, and passed 
hurriedly down Court House Hill. Ever since that 
eventful moment we have had a most exalted opinion 
of the lawyers of Norristown. How widely-known 
and well-established must be the integrity of these 
champions of jurisprudence, when a common stran- 
ger in the streets is supposed to be one of their num- 
ber by the honesty of his looks ! 

The public bridge across the fiver Schuylkill, at 
this place, is one of the longest and most substantial 
in Pennsylvania. It leads to the neat village of 
Bridgeport, where the canal flows along the banks, 
and where, just above, a dam spans the stream, down 
the sides of which the waters pour their crystal flood, 
like a thin sheet of transparent glass hung over a 
parapet. In the centre of the river is a lovely island, 
the green summer verdure of which is reflected in 
the passing waters ; and whose romantic reaches be- 
yond remind thb beholder of the days when the 
Schuylkill was the sporting current of the Indian, 
when its groves echoed to his wild halloos, and the 
hill -sides and valleys smoked with his wigwams. 



VALLEY FORGE. 15 

Now the dash of the water-wheel and the ripple of 
the canal-boat have taken the place of the paddling 
canoe. The savage shout has died away, and in its 
stead we hear the roar of engines on the railroad, and 
the clatter of machinery in the factories along the 
river. The smoke of the lodge has long since passed 
into thin air, and its space is supplied by the black 
vapor that rises from the tall chimneys of the busy 
iron forge, or the white steam of the lime-kiln. The 
Minie rifle has supplanted the bow ; the axe of the 
pioneer has driven out the savage hatchet ; the winding 
wild- wood path of the red man has become a country 
road, a turnpike, a railway ; and a large town stands 
on the rude plots where the aborigines reared their 
solitary huts. The naked foot of barbarism has been 
lifted from the soil, and the shod step of civilization 
is in its place where beautiful Norristown flourishes 
to-day. 

A few miles west from the Schuylkill is one of the 
most memorable spots in American revolutionary 
history. It is the Valley Forge. Here it was that 
the scattered remnants of the patriotic Continental 
army, under Washington, went into their scanty win- 
ter quarters. The British General, Sir William 
Howe, had vainly endeavored, with a much superior 
force, to draw the commander-in-chief into an unequal 



16 WINF1ELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

engagement. His object was the complete conquest 
of Philadelphia and the adjacent territory. Bat 
Washington was too cautious to be allured from his 
stronghold in these Pennsylvania hills ; although to 
remain there, through that unusually inclement sea- 
son, was sure to cause him and his brave troops a 
great amount of suffering. 

The battle of Germantown had been fought by 
Washington, with La Fayette and Pulaski, at that time 
just intr od uced to our republican army. Germantown 
is but a few miles east of Norristown, on the fine ridge 
of country lying toward Philadelphia. The battle 
took place on the 4th of October, 1777 ; and 
although the American soldiers were enduring much 
from sickness and privations, they attacked the in- 
vaders with such valor that they would have com- 
pletely won the day but for an unforeseen withdrawal 
of aid, for which it was impossible for Washington 
to be prepared. 

At the struggle of the Brandywine, which took 
place not many miles from Norristown, on the 
11th of September, in the same year, the Americans 
fought equally well ; but the smallness of their force, 
and the wounding of La Fayette, had compelled a 
retirement from the field. The determined will and 
skillful strategy of Washington, fighting a strong, 






VALLEY FORGE 17 

fresh force of the enemy, with disabled columns, kept 
Sir William Howe at bay from Philadelphia. It was, 
not until the last extremity had come, that the revolu- 
tionary troops steadily and slowly retired to the 
Yalley Forge. Here was passed that winter of ter- 
rible trial. "Without suitable food or clothing, worn 
down by repeated marches and battles, deprived of 
the comforts of home, driven into poor little shanties 
for protection against the piercing cold, the patriots 
of that day have gilded those hillsides and glens of 
Pennsylvania with the glory of their deeds. It was 
here that the selfish spirit of mean and cowardly men 
added to the sufferings of the brave soldiers. At 
the time when starvation seemed to be staring them 
in the face, when their feet were yet sore and swollen 
with their shoeless conflicts in the drifted snows, there 
were wretches base enough to rush through the sad 
and gloomy camp, crying "Beef! Beef! Give us 
beef!" It required all the courage and force of cha- 
racter of Washington to check this unpatriotic out- 
break, and convince the soldiers that to endure as 
brave men should was finally to succeed in the great 
struggle. In the 'dead waste and middle' of that 
fearful winter, the Father of our Country retired to 
the grove near his headquarters ; and, spreading his 
well-worn army cloak on the frozen ground, poured 
2* B 



18 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

out the agony of his tried soul in prayer to the 
Deity. At that very moment treason was doing its 
worst against him. Attempts were being made to 
supplant him in command. Our oppressors abroad, 
uniting with traitors at home, were doing all in their 
power to scatter the Continental forces, and give up 
the country to the foe. It was not so to be ! The 
Valley Forge, while it was the dark, icy grave to 
many of our early heroes, became, also, in the spring- 
time, the open door of hope, from which sprang forth 
new legions to do battle for Eepublican freedom. 
"Well may it forever be a sacred spot. Pennsylvania 
has many glorious Eevolutionary memorials ; but the 
Valley Forge stands first among them all. 

Surrounded by such associations as these, Winfield 
Scott Hancock was born. The name given him at his 
birth was indicative of the estimate put on love of 
country by his parents. That of Hancock is associated 
with everything that is noble and self-sacrificing in 
the early annals of the Eepublic. John Hancock. 
the Massachusetts merchant, will be remembered with 
gratitude by patriotic Americans, as long as a page 
of the history of our land remains. He was one of 
the most determined champions of the Eevolution 
that the American colonies contained. Of the fore- 
most men of his time, it was for him to say : 



PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS. 19 

" Thy spirit, Independence ! let me share, 
Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye ! 
Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, 
Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. 
Immortal Liberty ! whose look sublime 
Has blanched the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime." 

Hancock was among the first, while yet a young 
man and in the possession of a large fortune, to strike 
a blow against the royal oppressors of his native 
land. His life was declared to be forfeited, by a pro- 
clamation of the British Government. But he escaped 
the fury of a brutal soldiery, to enlist, with Adams, 
Otis, and other patriots of that day, in the work of 
preparing for an armed resistance to foreign aggres- 
sions. Immediately after the battle of Lexington, he 
was chosen President of the Provincial Congress, in 
Massachusetts ; and subsequently to be the successor 
of Peyton Eandolph, of old Virginia, as President of 
the General Congress, which met at Philadelphia, and 
issued the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 
1776. On that immortal roll of worthies his name must 
ever stand conspicuous. The record there made was 
nobly attested all through his life, and in the hour 
of his death. Virtuous, modest, courageous, learned, 
dignified, rich, he gave up all for his country; and 
has left a name on the pages of history which every 



20 WINFIELB, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

American may well aspire to imitate and be proud 
to honor. 

Coupled with the name of Hancock, the subject 
of our biography bears that of Winfield Scott. 
It is a pleasure to be able to record here the fact that 
the venerable Lieutenant-General acknowledged the 
compliment paid him, and very often expressed his 
deep personal interest in the career of the Pennsyl- 
vania boy, who still so worthily bears his distin- 
guished name. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Schoolboy Days of Hancock — His early Military Predilections 
— -Hits Youthful Friendships — The Permanent Impress of a good 
Home Moulds his Character — " Why, that big Boy out there Tried 
to Whip Me, and I wasn't going to let Him." 

WE must now introduce the reader to the home 
of Winfield, at Norristown. It was the year 
1835. His father was at that time a school teacher, 
and engaged in fitting himself for the profession of 
the law. The home of the boy was a good one. 

How much is included in these few short words I 
The true homes of America are its chief glory. They 
are the only sure social foundations of the Kepubli- 
can temple. In every such country the boys of to- 
day, when properly qualified, are the electors of to- 
morrow. As they decide the franchise, so the destinies 
of the nation may be decided. An American boy, 
rightly educated, may justly aspire to any position 
within the compass of man to attain, or of man to 
bestow. Hence the incalculable importance of early 
instruction in America ; hence the immense interests 

(21) 



22 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

of society and government that cluster around the 
hearth and shrine of the American home. 

Such was the home of Winfield. His parents 
were sincere Christians. The altar of worship stood 
like a sanctuary within their doors ; and every day 
their family bowed with them before it. Morning 
and evening the incense of devotion ascended from 
that house. Nor did this hallowed home influence 
stop at the threshold. Impressed on the memory and 
heart, it went out into the duties of life. It made 
itself a motive in their thoughts, heard in their 
voices, and felt in their actions. It was not irresisti- 
ble ; it was not all-controlling ; but, like the subtle 
air, it penetrated to every spot ; and even if its pres- 
ence could not always regulate, it was always acknow- 
ledged as able to do so, if its inherent power for good 
should be allowed free sway. 

It was in the domain of such a home as this that 
Winfield received his earliest impressions of charac- 
ter. The uniform record of him, in his boyhood, 
is, that he was obedient to his parents, truthful and 
courteous, cheerful, sociable, and manly. 

A gentleman sitting in the office of Winfield's 
father, heard quite a tumult among the boys in the 
street. There were shouts and other signs of per- 



HIS BOYHOOD. 23 

sonal conflict, which drew Mr. Hancock and his friend 
to the door. 

"Come here, my son," said the father, calling out 
"Winfield from the crowd. 

The boy immediately obeyed, and came marching 
directly to the office door, his flushed face turned full 
on that of his father. 

"What is the matter, Winfield?" inquired Mr. 
Hancock. 

" Why, that big boy, out there, tried to whip me ; 
and / wasn't going to let him /" 

" But he is a great deal larger than you are, my 
son." 

" I know he is, father ; but he shan't whip me, for 
all that!" 

It required some skill on the part of Mr. Hancock, 
aided by his visitor, to convince the lad that it was 
not his duty to go out and resume the fight, against 
all odds. 

Another domestic scene, of an entirely different 
character, serves further to illustrate the boy. 

Winfield and Hilary had come in together in the 
evening — for, being twins, they were then very sel- 
dom separate — and found their mother engaged in 
family affairs that would require her to remain up to 



24 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

a late hour. The father was necessarily absent, and 
she was alone with the children. 

The two little boys moved about the house, attend- 
ing to their tasks, as usual, until the time came to 
retire. The rooms were all still, save that in which 
the mother was engaged. The streets were almost 
vacant, and nearly quiet. The boys stood and looked 
at each other. They were tired of play. They had 
finished their studies. They had done their home 
errands. Both of them saw at a glance the state of 
the case ; and, simultaneously, they hit on a happy 
expedient. They immediately called a council of 
two — a twin council of twin brothers — and unani- 
mously decided the following propositions : 

First. It is the decision of this council that mother 
is not to be allowed to sit up alone. 

Second. The council will sit up with her. 

Third. The council shall divide the time into 
watches of one hour each. 

Fourth. Each member of the council shall keep 
awake one hour, and sleep one hour, watch and 
watch, until mother puts us to bed. 

These articles of agreement, having been duly as- 
sented to by both the high contracting parties, were 
faithfully carried out; until both members of the 



HIS BOYHOOD. 25 

council, at a late hour, were tenderly led to their 
youthful slumbers. 

The attachment existing between Winfield and his 
schoolmates developed itself in a great variety of 
ways, reflecting credit on his juvenile propensities. 
He was always regarded as a leader among the boys 
at Norristown. When the time came to organize 
the occasional village accompaniment of an amateur 
boy militia, he was at once selected, by common con- 
sent, to hold the distinguished post 'of captain. The 
memory of this little body of Home Guards is cher- 
ished with pride by many of its members, to this 
day. The matrons look back with pleasure on the 
fact that their hands helped to equip the juvenile sol- 
diers ; and that when they appeared on parade, with 
mimic colors and music of tiny drum and flageolet, 
they cheered them on their marches, and served 
them freely with the required rations of lemonade 
and doughnuts. 

The haymows and orchards in Norristown and 
vicinity will bear witness to the innocent raids of 
these budding patriots. In justice to them, it must 
be added that their depredations were never of a 
very serious character. They were generally wel- 
come whenever they entered their temporary bar- 
racks, or camp-grounds; and usually found ample 
3 



26 W1NFIELD THE LAWYER'S SON. 

opportunities to display their imitation martial deeds. 
Captain Winfield — perhaps owing to the significant 
fact that he bore the name of the then principal gen- 
eral of the United States army — always ' ruled the 
roster/ whether it assumed the form of a brigade, a 
regiment, or a battalion. His military experience, 
at the ripe age of twelve years, carried him triumph- 
antly through every duty, — muster, parade, drill, 
inspection, and review. His personal appearance 
always commanded respect, at the head of his little 
troop. One peculiarity of paternal reverence often 
saved him trouble in the way of discipline. He 
always handed offenders over to their mothers. This 
was a capital idea of Captain Winfield's. It not only 
enabled him to avoid all the vexations of a court-mar- 
tial, but it gave satisfaction to all concerned ; for if a 
good mother cannot bring a soldier to terms, who 
can? 

The boy-circle of Winfield in Norristown had its 
social singing-school. Here, again, his companions 
clustered around ; for he was as popular in musical 
as he was in military affairs. His aid was especially 
valuable in this association, for its general manage- 
ment was conferred on his father, as chairman of a 
committee. On one occasion, when the singing-books 
were being given out, it so happened that a soiled 



HIS BOYHOOD. 27 

copy fell into the hands of a playmate of "Winfield. 
Before he was aware of the defacements, the lad had 
written his name in the book, and thus it was too 
late to change it. 

"Leave this matter to me," said Winfield ; "I'll 
see what can be done. You shall have a good book 
in the place of this." 

"Thank you," replied his school-fellow; "but how 
will you do it ?" 

"Let me manage that," Winfield quietly added — 
" you may be sure I will do it right ; for father, you 
know, is committee-man." 

Without saying more, he took the soiled volume, 
and carefully erased the name his fellow-scholar had 
written in it. He then placed the book back in the 
pile, where he knew it must pass through the careful 
hands and under the scrutinizing eye of his father. 

The time came. The school was all assembled and 
seated. The books were again to be given out. Mr. 
Hancock passed them, as usual, giving to each scholar 
his book, with his name in it. Directly he came to 
the soiled one. The name was erased ! 

"Who erased this name?" quietly asked the dig- 
nified chairman of the committee, holding up the 
book, and showing the defaced page. 



28 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

" I did it, sir," promptly replied Winfield, standing 
up in his place. 

" What did you do it for ?" continued the father. 

" Because I didn't want that boy to have a soiled 
book, when I knew there were plenty of good ones, 
not used." 

Mr. Hancock looked an instant at Winfield, and, 
with a calm smile, put back the soiled book in its 
place behind him. Giving the school-mate a perfect 
copy, he added : 

" Take your seat, Winfield." 

That simple act of the lawyer's son spoke volumes. 
His attachment for his comrade determined his pur- 
pose to do him a favor. He was ready to do it, even 
if he had to ask it publicly of his father — a com- 
manding gentleman, the personification of dignity, 
especially when presented to a school of youth, to 
supervise their treatment of books. The promptness 
of his response to the question of his father, in the 
presence of the school, resulting in the protection of 
his school-fellow and obtaining him the desired book, 
strikingly illustrates, through the boy, the genius and 
energy of the man. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Mimic Battles of his Boyhood Foreshadow his Gallant Career 
— His Noble Defence of a Young Playmate, and their Meeting in 
after Years, when Both had earned Distinction — "A Good Sol- 
dier Knows no Party but his Country" 

IT is the opinion of those who knew Winfield best 
in his boyhood, that he chose the military life 
from an inherent love of it. At that early period of 
which we are now writing, he could, of course, have 
no idea of what was before him. His parents had 
not the slightest intention of devoting him to the 
profession of arms. When, on pleasant Saturday 
afternoons, released from the confinement of the 
school-room, he gathered his fellow- scholars around 
him, and, with music and banners, marched and coun- 
termarched with them through the streets of the then 
comparatively small village of Norristown, little did 
his family or those who looked on the mimic parade 
imagine that the modest, cheerful, amiable youth be- 
fore them would rise to the dignity of a Major 

3* (29) 



30 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

General in one of. the greatest armies of the world. 
When the miniature battles followed, the snow-ball 
engagements, the hay-bank barricades, the wooden 
swords clashing, the corn-stalk guns charging, the 
scantling embankments were carried by stove-pipe 
artillery, it was hardly supposed by the curious spec- 
tators that they were but the preludes to grand and 
gallant realities, in which that youthful commander 
should bear so conspicuous and enduring a part. 

In the juvenile band he met for other purposes, 
he was as affectionate and social as he was energetic 
and commanding in military matters. It was here 
that his genius shone in a beautiful sphere. He was 
very fond of scientific experiments. There are por- 
tions of his father's house that contain good illustra- 
tions of his taste in this particular, — the original 
home-made electric battery, the collections of geo- 
logical and mineral specimens, the drawings, sketch- 
ings and paintings. 

In the prosecution of his scientific studies, he was 
happy in opportunities to administer or to witness 
the administration and effects of nitrous oxide, or 
exhilarating gas. He was in the habit of gathering 
with his twin brother, an amateur class of students, 
to whom these and other experiments always afforded 



HIS BOYHOOD. 31 

pleasure. Win field was invariably selected to be the 
grand lecturer on these august occasions. 

" And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, 
How one small head could carry all he knew." 

With him, however, it was a serious matter. He 
entered the arena of science with a keen relish for 
it, and a firm purpose to excel in it. He was amused, 
with the rest ; but it was the amusement that rejoices 
in scientific combinations secured, and a prognosis 
chemically fulfilled. 

On one of these occasions, a playmate whose given 
name was Washington, well known to be a good 
singer, was desired to take the gas at the hands of 
Professor Winfield. The attempt to induce him to 
sing, while under the influence of the exhilaration, 
had been repeatedly tried by others, but always failed. 
At length the juvenile Professor determined to try his 
own skill in the case. 

Proceeding to administer the gas slowly, at regular 
intervals, he placed his mouth near the ear of the 
pupil, and breathed, in a clear, distinct whisper : 

" Sing, Wash ! — sing ! — sing ! — sing !" 

In an instant the effect was produced. The lad 
sprang forward, and throwing himself into the atti- 
tude of a singing master, with arm erect, as if beat- 



32 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ing time and tuning-fork in hand, he began, in the 
old tune of St. Martin's : 



"On Jo-ordan's sto-ormy ba-anks I stand, 
And ca-a-st a wi-i-shful eye 
To Ca-na-an's fai-i-r and ha-a-ppy land, 
Where my-y posse-e-ss-ions lie." 



" Well done !" exclaimed the delighted young Pro- 
fessor, as he saw his scientific victory ; while all the 
company joined in the applause. 

It now came the turn of Professor Winfield him- 
self. What trait would the gas make him display ? 
We shall see. 

A powerful charge of the subtle element was admin- 
istered to him. On the removal of the stop-cock, he 
stepped gravely forward, like a clergyman in a pul- 
pit, about to lead in some part of divine service. 
There was a general disappointment, for a moment. 
Pausing, slowly, he remained motionless, his eyes 
fixed steadily on the floor, his right hand placed 
firmly beneath his chin, his left foot slightly ad- 
vanced. In this position he remained an instant, as 
if he were a statue, when, springing up, like an eagle, 
he swept across the area, stretched out his arms to 
their full extent, clenched his fists, and prepared for 
active battle. The nearest portion of the audience 



HIS BOYHOOD. 33 

incontinently fell back, or the threatened blows might 
have caused ' somebody to be hurt.' 

Instantly, as the living effect passed off, he resumed 
his wonted habit of mingled dignity, courtesy, and 
energy. 

These characteristics of the practical student were 
well developed in Winfield. At the village academy 
he acquired and maintained the position of an honest, 
truthful, obedient, courageous boy. It was his cha- 
racter, also, in the community. While popular with 
his fellow youth and fond of their society, there was 
something about this boy that led men of thought 
and reflection to take an interest in conversing with 
him. Many a time was he received with pleasure in 
the cluster of the citizens who were wont to gather 
in the store opposite his father's residence, and by 
whom the affairs of the day were discussed. It is 
worthy of remembrance that he loved to be among 
and listen to them. He was never known to intrude 
an opinion or to hazard a remark of his own ; but as 
he stood there, with his modest, unassuming manner, 
the expressions of his face, as conversations pro- 
gressed, clearly indicated on which side his . convic- 
tions were, and that, if called upon, he was ready to 
enforce them by every means in his power. It was 
here, among these debating and enquiring free citi- 

C 



34 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON 

zens, that Winfield learned some of his best concep- 
tions of the safeguards of our country. Here he 
saw, in the record of passing events thus laid before 
his opening mind, the practical application of those 
vital forces of which he had learned at school, and 
the relative value of which he now beheld wrought 
out into shape by those before him, in the movements 
of society. He learned the worth of freedom to all 
mankind by what he saw of its enjoyment among 
those immediately around him. Free himself, he 
longed in his young heart to give freedom, guided 
by law, to all the human race. 

He was now fifteen years of age. His progress in 
his studies had been all that could be expected. As 
he advanced, new opportunities were presented for 
the development of his powers. The celebration of 
the anniversary of our national independence called 
him out in a new field. He was selected to read the 
Declaration in public on that day. It was an occa- 
sion of deep interest in the town. The largest church 
was crowded with people, and the schools were well 
represented. One of the pastors, who had always 
expressed pleasure in the marked genius of Winfield, 
when it was known that he was to be the reader of 
the Declaration, took him aside to his shady garden, 
and there taught him on what to lay the emphasis, 



HIS BOYHOOD. 35 

where to pause, when to raise and how to lower his 
voice. It would be a graphic picture to witness that 
reverend divine now calling the Major General be- 
fore him again, to hear how he would to-day delineate 
the immortal document he read in the grove, more 
than a quarter of a century ago, and which he has 
since so often and so bravely periled his life, on the 
field of battle, to maintain. 

When Winfield was eleven years of age, there 
came to Norristown a poor little boy who was com- 
monly called 'Johnny.' His father had died when 
he was but three years old, and he was placed in 
charge of a relative of the family. He grew up with 
the other boys of the place, and at the age of nine 
became one of the playmates of Winfield. By de- 
grees there was formed an attachment between them. 
They saw something in each other that they liked. 

As is too often the case, not only with children but 
older persons, this unfortunate child was neglected, 
and occasionally tyrannized over by his associates. 
This was one of the reasons why Winfield resolved 
to stand by him. Having ten pennies at his disposal 
where Johnny had one, he made it a rule, whenever 
occasion served, to divide with him. When they 
met, before or after school, and recreation was the 
object Winfield would say : 



36 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON 

" Come, Johnny, I have some pennies ; let us go 
together and get something." 

Thus the thoughtful generosity of Winfield and 
the affectionate gratitude of Johnny made both boys 
happy. 

Sometimes larger boys would gather around Johnny, 
and tantalize and threaten him. He was the youngest 
and smallest among them. On all such occasions, 
"Winfield, when within sight or hearing, would 
promptly and bravely come to the rescue. 

" Look here !" he would say to the aggressor, "you 
are larger and older than Johnny, and ought to be 
ashamed to take advantage of him, on account of his 
age and size." 

" What business is it to you, Winfield Hancock ?" 
came the angry question. 

" I will make it my business," was Winfield's de- 
cided reply. "Stand your ground, Johnny; they 
shan't hurt you !" 

Occasionally, when this manly reinforcement 
brought threats on his own head, he would boldly 
add: 

" If you want to take hold of a boy, why don't you 
find one of my size ? Let little Johnny alone !" 

His magnanimous courage always carried the day. 

It was in this spirit that he obtained that control 



HIS EARLY FRIENDS. 37 

over other boys, some of them older than himself, 
that distinguished his boyhood. Yery frequently, 
when juvenile difficulties occurred, and it seemed im- 
possible to adjust them amicably, the general cry 
would arise : 

" Oh, leave it to Winfield ; he'll settle it." 
The young judge invariably accepted the office, and 
mounted the bench, on the spot. It is worthy of 
record that his decisions, whatever they might be, 
always gave satisfaction. 



In after years little Johnny came as a carpenter's 
apprentice to the city of Philadelphia. He was 
still so poor that when he crossed the bridge, then 
standing at the head of Market street, he had but a 
solitary penny in his pocket. But he had a good 
trade ; and immediately went to work. It was not 
long ere he was at the head of a gang of men. By 
continued industry he prospered in business, and be- 
came a rich man. Entering a new field, he was 
chosen a member of the Philadelphia city govern- 
ment, and took his seat in the Councils, respected and 
confided in by all who knew him. 

In the same course of time, Winfield, his playmate, 
had become a Major General in the Army of the 
United States. But they who had thus been boys 



88 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

together, did not forget each other when they became 
men. It was the pleasant duty of John William 
Everman., Esq., for the government of Philadelphia, 
to introduce a series of resolutions commending 
the patriotism, courage, and skill of Major General 
Winfield Scott Hancock. These resolutions were 
passed unanimously by both branches of the City 
Councils, and it devolved on 'little Johnny' to be 
chairman of the committee that took them, elegantly 
engrossed, to the now distinguished friend of his 
early years. 

The Councilman and the General met at the capital 
of the nation. How changed the scene now from 
that of their boyhood in the borough of Norristown ! 
They came together, in the presence of the accompa- 
nying members of the delegation, in one of the par- 
lors of Willard's hotel. With what cordiality the 
two playmates greeted each other ! 

At the close of a mutually agreeable conversation, 
the General said : 

" We meet here, Mr. Everman, in our official ca- 
pacities; but, sir, I desire to see more of you. I 
must leave, soon, for my post in the army. Come 
and visit me there, sir ; and be sure and make my 
headquarters your home, during your stay." 

This early friendship of boyhood continued for 



HIS EARLY FRIENDS. 39 

several years. It has been repeatedly revived by 
numerous pleasant memorials. When General Han- 
cock visited Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aiding, by his 
powerful personal influence, in the great work of ob- 
taining reinforcements for the noble Army of the 
Potomac, he was waited upon by Mr. Everman, in 
company with other gentlemen of the Philadelphia 
city government. The pages of the records of the 
past were often reviewed by the two friends on this 
occasion. It was here the General was informed that 
he was voted the freedom of Philadelphia, and that 
the sacred area of old Independence Hall — the room 
in which the Declaration of American Independence 
was signed — had been opened to his use, for the re- 
ception of himself and his visits from the people. 

The scenes of that occasion will long be remem- 
bered in Philadelphia. The honor is one seldom con- 
ferred on any American citizen. No one but a Presi- 
dent or Ex-president of the United States, or a serv- 
ant of the Eepublic similarly distinguished, has ever 
enjoyed it. Here, within these consecrated walls, the 
two friends — Winfield and little Johnny — enjoyed 
the renewal of the friendship of their boyhood days. 
As the crowd gathered around him, to do him honor 
for his brilliant services on the field of battle, to up- 
'hold the Union our patriot fathers had met here to 



40 WINFIELD, Tl?E LAWYER'S SON". 

establish; the General bent down close to his friend, 
and whispered in his ear : 

" Yon shall hear from me again." 

A gentleman approaching touched on the political 
questions of the day. 

" I know no politics," said General Hancock ; " es- 
pecially in such a presence as this," — looking rever- 
ently on the portraits of the fathers of the Eepublic, 
hung around the old hall — firmly adding : 

" A good soldier knows no party but his county." 

In receiving the Philadelphia resolutions, forwarded 
by Mr. Everman, the same noble impulse guided the 
pen of the General. By his direction they were en- 
closed to Mrs. Hancock, at her residence at Long- 
wood, St. Louis county, Missouri, who acknowledged 
them from the friend of her husband in a beautiful 
and appropriate letter. A copy was placed in the 
hands of the parents of the General, and it orna- 
mented the family mansion, overlooking a portion 
of the youthful playgrounds of W infield and ' little 
Johnny,' at Norristown. 



CHAPTER IV. 

An Interesting Episode which had much to do with Shaping the 
Destiny of Young Hancock — The III- Treatment of a Horse by a 
Drayman leads indirectly to a Cadetship for the Future General. 

AT the time of which we are now writing, there 
resided in a populous part of Montgomery 
county, Pennsylvania, a gentleman well known for 
his extensive influence in political circles. His 
deep interest in the arrangement of public matters 
induced him to take long and frequent rides through 
different parts of the county, and places adjacent. 
He once represented that district in the Congress of 
the United States. His type of character led him to 
be strong in his likes and dislikes ; to be decided in 
his friendship and equally decided in his enmity. 

For quite a r umber of years, in the prosecution 

of his profession, he had employed one of the best 

horses in that section of the country. With his 

trusty steed, when a pressing occasion demanded, he 

4* (41) 



42 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

was accustomed to start off, at times in the middle of 
the night, reach the dwellings of the members of his 
party he desired to see, rouse them from their slum- 
bers, communicate the intelligence or counsel he 
thought of importance, and then, after driving or 
riding miles in his solitary routes of duty, to return 
to his office as the first beams of day gilded the sur- 
rounding landscape. Many a public movement has 
been announced in the papers, many a political event 
has controlled the party destinies of that district, and, 
to some extent, of the state and country, which had 
its unknown origin in the midnight journeys of this 
Montgomery county traveller. 

Like other somewhat eccentric men, having no 
wife to love, he loved his horse. The noble animal 
was his companion in all these secret trips. It had 
become accustomed to his night approaches in the 
comfortable stables ; it had sped for him, either bear- 
ing him on its back or drawing him in his vehicle, 
through highways and byways ; it had patiently and 
quietly waited for him, through summer and winter, 
in sunshine and in storm, at the places selected by its 
master for his strategic interviews ; and had thus, in 
many ways, enabled him to accomplish objects that 
were dear to his heart. 

But, strong and enduring as is the horse, it cannot 



HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 43 

last forever. There came a time when the good steed 
of our friend, while it retained all its wonted fineness 
of mould and form, gave signs of age. While suit- 
able for short excursions, and as useful as ever for 
occasional drives, it could no longer withstand the 
long, and rapid, and repeated journeys to which for 
years it had been subjected. The owner, touched by 
the discovery of the fact, with a spirit that did him 
honor, decided to withdraw the animal from such 
active service. He took it to Philadelphia, and pre- 
sented it to a professional acquaintance, then resid- 
ing there, with the mutual understanding that the 
faithful creature should be employed only in light 
and easy duties — such as would especially benefit 
the recipient of the horse — until its death. 

Time passed on. One day, when the lawyer was 
on a visit to Philadelphia, he discovered, as he stood 
near the Montgomery Hotel, a handsome horse, 
harnessed to a heavily loaded dray, quivering with 
excitement under his load, covered with foam, and a 
driver lashing him furiously with a large whip. 
Looking a moment at the suffering animal — panting 
there in the dry, dusty streets, in the middle of the 
month of July — he perceived it was his own former 
favorite! Bushing to the driver, and seizing his 



44 WWFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

lifted whip, just about to descend on the lacerated 
back of the poor creature, be exclaimed : 

" Hold ! What are you about, flogging that horse 
in that brutal manner?" 

The driver began to reply, when he again cried 
out: 

" Where did you buy the animal ?" 

" Of ," (naming the party to whom 

the lawyer had presented it.) 

"What did you pay?" 

" Seventy-five dollars." 

" And he took that money, for this horse !" 

" Yes, sir ; I paid him cash down " 

" You did ? Well ; you may come down yourself, 
now." 

The driver descended from his dray, and stood, 
looking with wonder at his questioner, while he, in 
turn, looked, with something rather different, at him. 

" Now, tell me," he resumed, as calmly as possible, 
" why did you strike such a handsome horse in that 
way?" 

" I know it's handsome, sir ; quick yet, in a light 
buggy; but, then, the critter ain't strong; its too 
old, 'squire." 

" So, then ; you cut and lash a noble horse because 
he's old, do vou ?" 



HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 45 

" I've been cheated, 'squire, by the man I bought 
on." 

" Been cheated, eh ? I think you have I 

"And you are not the only one who has been 
cheated about that horse. 

" What will yon take for the animal ?" 

" I'll take a hundred dollars ; for it'll be some 
trouble for me to get another who'll sell as well." 

" My friend ! here are your hundred dollars. The 
horse is mine — again! I have always held that 
beautiful creature to be worth more than twice as 
much. I would not take five hundred, now !" 

"Then you've made a good bargain, 'squire." 

" Yes ; a very good bargain ; tho' I have been sold, 
myself; but this is the last time this horse will ever 
be. 

" Take it out of that dray, as quick as your hands 
vail let you ! Go ! get a dray horse, that will bear 
loading and thrashing better than this one !" 

The still wondering drayman instinctively obeyed, 
and the horse, yet trembling and wet with fatigue 
and blows, was led to the stables of the Montgomery 
Hotel, where several days and nights of rest and 
care were required to restore the usual appearance 
and qualities. At the end of that time the revived 
pet was again in its old home, suitably enlarged for 



46 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the purpose, and receiving its full share of wonted 
kindness. 



Now it happened that at the time this occurrence 
was taking place, the party who had thus summarily 
disposed of the present of our legal friend, removed 
a portion of his family into Montgomery county. 
His reason for doing so was that he heard a cadet 
was about being selected there for West Point, and 
he thought by that device to secure the appointment 
for his son. He had no right to solicit the favor. 
He was not a resident of the district, never had 
been, and never expected to be. His temporary 
location there was a subterfuge, a ruse ; as mean an 
act as his selling the present of his friend, to be 
treated brutally in its old age. 

The lawyer discovered the base trick, as he had 
discovered that practiced on him in the matter of his 
equine favorite ; and, with his usual promptitude, 
determination and sagacity, he proceeded at once to 
thwart the trickster. We shall see how handsomely 
he did it. With the eccentricity and shrewdness 
peculiar to him, he determined that his horse, who 
had shared with him in suffering, should participate 
with him in his punishment of the wrong-doer. He 
at once mounted the animal, and proceeded to the 



HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 47 

house of the then member of congress for that dis- 
trict, the Hon. Joseph Foknance, told him the facts 
of the case, and took the steps necessary to carry his 
patriotic plan into effect. 

Late that same night he rode up to the door of 
Mr. B. F. Hancock, in Norristown. Without stop- 
ping to dismount, he at once began : 

" Good evening, Mr. Hancock !" 

" Good evening, sir," was the courteous answer, as 
Mr. Hancock, who had been roused from his sleep, 
came to the steps of his office. 

" Mr. Hancock ! would you like to have your son 
Winfield sent to West Point, as a cadet ?" 

" Keally, sir, I hardly know what to reply to such 
a question. It is a very sudden one to be proposed 
at this time of night. I have not thought of the 
thing." 

" Well, I wish you would think of it ; for I have 
it in my power to send him." 

" Winfield is rather young for such a position." 

" He is as old as the boy who another man is try- 
ing to get in I" 

" That may be." 

" Yes, sir ; I know it to be so ! Winfield is a smart 
boy, Mr. Hancock ; a very smart boy ; a great deal 
smarter than that other one ; he has the talents for 



48 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

it, sir ; just the talents ; and, if you will say the 
word, he shall go." 

" I thank you for the offer ; but you must grant 
me time to reflect upon it. 

" Call to-morrow morning, and I will give you an 
answer." 

The family of Mr. Hancock are early risers. 
They were up betimes ; and the cadet consultation 
was duly held. It is due to the mother of Winfield 
to record the fact that she took that active part in it 
becoming her position. Unintentionally to herself 
she had nourished some of the early military pro- 
clivities of the boy. She had helped to equip him 
in his juvenile uniform, when at the head of his 
miniature company of Norristown volunteers, while 
his father had been busy with other affairs. She 
knew well the bent of the mind of the boy. Wiu- 
fleld himself was consulted in the matter ; and the 
decision was made. 

The pawing hoofs of the venerable steed on the 
pavement in front of the house told that the appli- 
cant for Winfield was soon again at the door. The 
moment it opened, the clear voice of the still mounted 
lawyer made the earnest inquiry 

" "Well, Mr. Hancock ! what do you say ? I am all 
ready to complete the business. Shall Winfield go ?" 



HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 49 

*• Yes, sir !" was the quiet response. 

In an instant more the horse and rider were gal- 
loping down the street, across the adjacent bridge, 
to the temporary residence of the incumbent con- 
gressman. 

The secret history of that early morning ride by 
that Pennsylvania civilian, on that petted old horse, 
of his interview with that member of congress, of 
their mutual conference and conjectures with regard 
to young Winfield, is all locked up in the past. 
What anticipations for the future of the boy glowed 
in the bosom of that rider are all buried with him 
in the grave. All unknown to us now are the hopes 
he indulged of the career of the cadet ; how fondly 
he may have imagined him realizing all his expec- 
tations ; succeeding in the admission ; passing the 
ordeal of three years of study ; receiving his com- 
mission and entering the army of the nation ; serv- 
ing the requisite term in subordinate positions, 
through drill, discipline, and the privations of camp, 
fortress, and march; encountering hunger, disease, 
fatigue and battle ; perhaps rising to eminence among 
the sons of the Republic who should graduate with 
him from those classic and warlike enclosures ; until, 
in bright perspective, the name of his youthful pro- 
5 D 



60 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

tege might be honored and distinguished in American 
military annals. 

That solitary rider on that patriotic mission passed 
near the hallowed shades of the Yalley Forge, and 
the vicinity of the sanguinary battle-ground of Paoli. 
The winding road carried him beside the silent grave 
of many a revolutionary hero, dying, unknown, in 
the early struggle of the colonies, for his God, for 
freedom and native land. The little hillocks were 
green with beauty as he galloped by them, and their 
sods seemed to whisper approval to him, in every 
bending blade of grass. Going in the light of the 
morning sun and returning in the cool shadows of 
the evening, the spirits of the heroic dead seemed to 
hover around him, as they ever do around all con- 
trolled by the loftiest purposes of the human heart. 
Beyond were the hillsides and gorges where Wash- 
ington, like an invincible eagle at bay, gathered his 
chosen troops around him, and resolved to suffer, 
and, if need be to die, in all the horrors of" an half- 
starved and half-naked winter camp, rather than sur- 
render up the symbols of national liberty and hope 
committed to his hands by the American people. 
Here was the bridle-path he traversed, in his high 
emprise of duty. There he had his headquarters in 
the canvas tent. Yonder he counselled with the he- 



HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 51 

roic Steuben and Knox, through the cold, dark nights, 
when the stars lighted up their vigils at the altar of 
freedom, and the fires of the bivouacs of her armed de- 
fenders glowed on the darkness of their lines beyond. 
Born in the entrenched mountain passes ; sheeted in 
the towering drifts of snow ; nursed at the breast of 
famine ; shielded by the bleeding arms of patriots ; 
soothed by the lullaby of the icy cradle of liberty, 
that rung with steel as it rocked in the stormy winds ; 
guarded by brave hearts, warm with the noblest re- 
solves that ever lived in the souls of men ; and, above 
all, overshadowed by the outspread wing of an Al- 
mighty Protector, the infant Genius of American In- 
dependence here passed in safety its first fearful 
ordeal of the Eevolutionary War. How bravely the 
native patriotism of our fathers arose from that 
gloomy sepulchre at the Valley Forge, and how 
sternly it renewed its proof of resurrection, history 
has abundantly attested. Immediately after these 
scenes followed the deeds of valor they performed in 
the ensuing spring, at Trenton, on the banks of the 
Delaware ; compelling our enemies, with all their su- 
perior land and sea force, to retire from Philadel- 
phia ; and winning, &gainst great odds, the glorious 
victories of Princeton and Monmouth, on the bloody 
sands of New Jersey. 



52 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

On the return of that rider to Norristown, from 
amid such associations as these, in old Pennsylvania, 
the preparatory steps were completed with Mr. For- 
nance, the then member of Congress for that district, 
which resulted in making W infield Scott Han- 
cock a United States Cadet. 

So singular was the cause of the beginning of his 
public career. The rider and the horse are long 
since dead ; but how mysterious is the part they per- 
formed in thus preparing the way of one of the most 
distinguished of the military men of America ! 

" This is Thy work, Almighty Providence ! 
Whose power, beyond the stretch of human thought, 
Revolves the orbs of empire." 



CHAPTER V. 

Winfield Scott Hancock as a West Point Cadet — He Meets his Illus- 
trious Namesake — His Creditable Progress at the Academy — His 
Industry, His Truthfulness, and High Sense of Honor — An Illus- 
tration of his Humorous Vein — " Jineing the Pint." 

AMEBIC AN history will always endorse the wis- 
dom of the Father of our Country in the selec- 
tion of West Point as a school for military purposes. 
Washington was deeply impressed with the vast 
strategic importance of that post during the Kevolu- 
tionary War. The treasonable attempt of Arnold to 
betray it into the hands of the enemy, during the ab- 
sence of the Commander-in-chief, at Hartford, Con- 
necticut, to confer there with our French ally, Eo- 
chambeau, on a plan for the then ensuing campaign 
of 1779, has shown its relative position as a means 
of internal defence, in a very striking light. It was 
eminently fitting that he should early designate this 
stronghold as a suitable spot for the establishment of 
a school for the instruction of American youth in the 
great work of national protection. Located on the 

6* (63) 



54 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

navigable waters of the Hudson river, in the midst 
of the most commanding hills, with a healthful and 
abundant country immediately surrounding it, having 
every facility for the construction of fortifications, 
the management of the engines of war and the move- 
ments of a sufficient number of troops, no military 
institution of its class in the world excels it. 

Winfield Scott Hancock entered West Point 
as a cadet on the first of July, 1840, at the age of 16. 
At that time there were among his fellow cadets, most 
of them his seniors in age and entrance, such of our 
nation's military men as Lt. Gen. Grant, Gens. 
Judah, Pleasanton, Hardie, Keynolds, Ord, 
Ingalls and Augur. His studies were of a nature 
to develop his talents in the right direction. Plans 
of fortifications, sections of embrasures, casemates, 
cannon and carriages, occupied his pen and pencil to 
advantage. Those who have seen the specimens of 
the skill and patient industry of Winfield, in works 
of this description, attest to their excellence. 

The personal popularity which so marked him at 
home continued with the young cadet during the 
whole of his career at West Point. He frequently, 
after his graduation, expressed the opinion that he 
entered the academy too young; but it is not sup- 
posed that many agree with him. 



HIS CAREER AT WEST POINT. 55 

While at West Point he was seen and conversed 
with for the first time by General Scott. It was the 
pleasure of the chieftain to express his satisfaction at 
the progress the modest youth was making. His 
kind expressions on that occasion will always be re- 
membered by all who heard them. 

The studies and service of West Point embrace a 
practical period of three years. During each term 
the cadet is regarded, as he was at his entrance, as a 
soldier of the nation, sworn to her defence by force 
of arms for four years after the time of his gradua- 
tion, and then to be held as indirectly expected to 
do duty under her colors. As he advances in studies 
he increases his military drill and practice ; passes 
through tests in the different arms of infantry, cav- 
alry, and artillery ; and learns, by actual service in 
amateur camps, the value of exercise, drill and dis- 
cipline in the manual of arms, the camp, and the 
field. Experience has now abundantly proved the 
practical value of this national military school. 

These are not the pages on which to record any 
additional testimonies in favor of the usefulness of 
West Point Academy to the nation. The war of 
1812, through all its vicissitudes, attested the fact ; 
it was repeated again in Mexico ; and it has been fre- 
quently and strongly reaffirmed during the national 



56 WIKFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

conflict with the great rebellion of '61-4. If some 
of the sons of the Kepublic, educated carefully at her 
expense at West Point, have ungratefully turned 
against her, and cruelly stung the bosom that warmed 
them into military life, the great body of the cadets 
have been and still are bravely true to the glorious 
ensign of the Union. 

The dry, quiet humor of Winfield developed itself 
at West Point, as it did in his boyhood at Korris- 
town. In spite of all conventional rules, it would 
occasionally find vent in various ways. One of these 
humors of the cadets in which he took part was to 
welcome outsiders, who were sometimes under the 
impression that they had only to offer themselves at 
the gates and they would be admitted at once to enter 
the ranks. This delusion was humorously dispelled 
by the accompanying engraving, which was designed 
and drawn by Cadet Hancock. (See engraving, 
"Jineing the Pint.") It is introduced here not 
merely to show one of the pleasantries of the Acad- 
emy, but the talents of General Hancock, as a deline- 
ator. In the West Point Album, that has been po- 
litely placed at our disposal for the purpose, are 
several other original specimens of his genius as an 
amateur artist, while the large drawings of forts, 
navy yards, and arsenals, display in a favorable 



HIS CAREER AT WEST POINT. 57 

light his scientific attainments. Among these we 
have several elegantly drawn and finely colored out- 
lines of public buildings, at West Point, and national 
works at other places, with sketches of nature, cha- 
racters and scenes that do marked credit to his 
talents, 

The youth of our country, who aspire to do her 
service — and what true American youth does not ? — 
may well profit by the juvenile example and cadet 
experience of Winfield Hancock. He had no advan- 
tages over many a lad reading these pages. He had 
to contend with the same obstacles that beset others. 
The secret of his success, thus far, was that he was 
obedient to his parents ; he was found in his place at 
school ; he profited by the examples set before him 
by his Christian parents ; he neither despised nor 
shunned the duties connected with the instructions 
of the holy day ; he learned to prize honesty, virtue, 
truth, magnanimity, as above all price ; and when, 
therefore, he entered the trying arena of a great na- 
tional military institution, to contest for the guerdons 
of learning, self-control, position and power among 
men, he was in a good measure prepared for the 
ordeal. 

Young American readers ! the destinies of this 
great nation are soon to be committed to your 



58 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

hands. You are to frame and execute its laws ; to 
raise, equip, and maintain its defences ; to educate its 
masses, of which you yourselves are to be a part ; to 
earn and manage its finances ; to produce its crops, 
conduct its manufactures, display its arts, sail its ships, 
and represent it in all foreign lands. In a short time 
you are to fill the places of your fathers, who, in a 
single generation of thirty years, will have all passed 
away. 

Be worthy, then, as Winfield was, of the high 
trust about to be consigned to your control. Be up- 
right, be industrious, be obedient, be patriotic ; and 
you wil be fitting sons of the great American Ke- 
public. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Brief Sketch of Montgomery County, Rich in its Revolutionary 
Associations — A County to be proud of and a County that is 
proud of its Distinguished Son, the Present Nominee for the Pres- 
idency of the United States. 

INHERE is much of deep historical interest in old 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Before 
young Winfield, one of her choicest native sons, 
had gone from her abode to his cadetship at West 
Point, before he had begun to reflect lustre on her 
name by his brilliant and patriotic career, the history 
of the county was well worthy of honorable mention. 
The settlement of this county was one of the ear- 
liest in the central part of the United States. As 
long ago as 1640, nearly half a century before the 
grant of William Penn was given to the first English 
proprietors, there were settlers along the banks of the 
Schuylkill and its tributaries, beyond the present 
boundaries of Norristown. The Hollander, the 
Swede, the Welshman, J ;he German, the Englishman, 
were its primeval colonists, following in the track of 

the Algonquin, who then held supreme sway over all 

(59) 



60 WINF1ELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the land, from the Hudson to the Delaware, and from 
the Catskills to the Alleghenies. 

Opened to civilization, it was separated from Phila- 
delphia in 1784. It covered an area of 317,440 acres 
— the manor of Norriton, now the borough of 
Norristown, then embracing, in the grant of William 
Penn to his son, 7,482 acres. The whole of this town 
site was valued, in 1704, at a little over $3,000. The 
present extent of the county is 30 miles in length, 
17 miles in breadth, and 490 square miles. Its pop- 
ulation at the last census was 81,612. 

No county in Pennsylvania has justly more pride 
of character than Montgomery. Its founders were 
men of tenacious religious faith, fixed purpose, great 
industry, and determined perseverance. In the inte- 
rior townships there are many of the people who 
hold to the language which their ancestors brought 
across the ocean, with a tenacity that no changes of 
time, no inroads of progress, can relax. The tongues 
their fathers spoke centuries ago they speak to-day. 
A quiet, rural, thriving people, they are successful in 
their pursuits and hospitable to strangers. Around 
them, and all through the valley of the Schuylkill, 
the advance of the age has been steadily onward. 
The navigable streams; the manufacturing water- 
courses ; the mines of iron, coal, and lead ; the quar- 



HIS NATIVE COUNTY. 61 

ries of marble, limestone, slate, and sandstone ; the 
foundries, kilns, factories, and forges, filling the rail- 
way, the river and the canal with their busy fruits 
of enterprise ; all unite to present a picture of Mont- 
gomery which the historian is grateful to be able to 
record. 

There are parts of this county that must ever be 
gloriously memorable in revolutionary annals. In 
1777, after the defeat of the American army at Bran- 
dywine, the region of Montgomery was much fre- 
quented by Washington and his patriot troops. On 
the 17th of September, of that year, the Americans 
moved to the north, toward the Schuylkill, by way 
of Yellow Springs, and encamped on the Perkiomen. 
All this spot, from Parker's Ford toNorristown, from 
Norristown to Swedes' Ford, from Swedes' Ford to 
Perkiomen, from Perkiomen to Whitemarsh, from 
Whitemarsh to Paoli, from Paoli to the Valley Forge, 
is now sacred ground. It is to be remembered for- 
ever as one of the oldest battle-fields of liberty. 

The encampment of Sir William Howe, when 
Washington was fighting him for the protection of 
Philadelphia, was at one time on the present site of 
Norristown. Washington was at that moment but a 
few miles above. The cruel massacre of Paoli might 
have been shared by the then little settlement of Nor- 
6 



62 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ristown, but for the special interposition of the 
Almighty. An unexpected storm changed the whole 
nature of the campaign, and led the way for the with- 
drawal of the enemy from that section of the country. 

The remains of the revolutionary breastworks at 
Swedes' Ford will always stand as a memorial of the 
stubborn defence made against invasion by our pa- 
triot fathers. It was here the foreign invaders were 
met, and the fording of the troops of Washington 
protected. Only a short distance from this line of 
the county of Montgomery, the Father of our Coun- 
try passed, with his brave little army, to those terri- 
ble scenes at the Yalley Forge, of which we have 
spoken in previous chapters. It was over this soil, 
now forever made consecrate by their touch, that the 
patriot soldiers tracked their way in blood to their 
wintry quarters, and to their future achievements for 
American indepen lence. 

A fitting spot for the birthplace of Winfield 
Scott Hancock. From this historic point we now 
begin to trace his entrance on a more public career. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Winfield Graduates — His Gallant Career in the Mexican War — 
Churubusco — Molino del Rey — Chapultepec — Toluca — The Com- 
plimentary Resolutions of the Pennsylvania Legislature — The 
Fleshing of his Maiden Sword. 

ON the 30th day of June, 1844, Cadet Hancock 
graduated at West Point, standing number 
eighteen in his class. He was promoted to a brevet 
second lieutenancy in the Sixth United States Regu- 
lar Infantry, July 1st, 1844, and on the 18th of June, 
1846, received his commission as full second lieuten- 
ant in the same regiment. 

His first posts of duty in the army were in the far 
West — in the region of the Washita, on Ked Kiver. 
The valley of the Red River borders on the Indian 
territory, and contains extensive prairies, among 
which are large tracts of fine timber. The soil is 
equal to any in the world for fertility and durability. 
At the time Lieutenant Hancock was stationed in 

(63) 



HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 65 

by General Taylor, had induced that Mexican chief 
to make the most extensive preparations for opposing 
the victorious advance of General Scott. Yera Cruz, 
the principal Mexican town on the seaboard, had 
fallen; and, after winning several other victories to- 
ward the interior, the army of the centre was now on 
its way to the capital of Mexico. Two strong posi- 
tions had to be taken before the city could be assaulted 
— Molino del Eey, (the King's Mill,) and the castle of 
Chapultepec. In the advance on this important point, 
Lieutenant Hancock drew his sword in his earliest 
fights for his country. He was under the immediate 
command of Captain Hoffman, of the Sixth Infantry. 
The assault was made on the works of the enemy 
by the platoon in charge of Lieutenant Hancock, in 
company with Lieutenants Armistead, Sedgwick, 
Buckner, and Eosecrans — the last named having vol- 
unteered for the occasion from the Fifth Infantry. 

By order of General Worth, the battalion of the 
Sixth Infantry, in command of Captain Hoffman, 
formed in column and repeatedly charged the battery 
of the enemy. Lieutenant Hancock was now under 
fire for nearly the first time, like others of our officers 
and men. The Second Artillery, under Captain 
Brooks and Lieutenants Daniels and Sedgwick, aided 
materially in our assault. The charge of our troops 
6* E 



66 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

was continued until the enemy was driven from the 
field. 

At three o'clock in the morning of the 8th of Sep- 
tember, 1847, he moved with the troops on the as- 
saulted batteries. The grey light of coming day had 
not yet tipped the heights around, when the two 
twenty-four-pounders placed in position opened on 
the solid stone walls of the enemy. No reply came ; 
and it was at first supposed that the Mexicans had 
abandoned the post. It soon appeared, however, that 
they had only changed their place of defence, and 
were beginning, from a new and unexpected point, to 
pour grape and round shot on our advancing flanks. 
It is inferred, from some circumstances afterwards 
revealed, that the Mexican commander had been in- 
formed of the manner of our approach by foreign 
spies. The assault of the enemy was severe ; cutting 
down our men in large numbers, killing and wound- 
ing eleven out of fourteen of our officers, and a like 
proportion in the ranks. On perceiving their tempo- 
rary advantage, the Mexicans rushed on our- lines 
with their usual savage ferocity, and murdered our 
wounded troops in cold blood. 

Eeinforcements were now thrown rapidly forward 
by General Worth, who resolutely attacked the Mexi- 
can flank. The Mexican General Leon, who headed 



HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 67 

a spirited sortie from the walls of Molino del Rey, 
was wounded, several officers of high rank were 
killed, and the enemy driven back. The access to 
the foe was sought in a variety of ways. The 
walls were scaled by our daring men, the top of the 
building reached by cutting holes in the solid stone, 
by means of their bayonets ; the main gate was soon 
forced, and the troops rushed through with a shout 
that woke the echoes of the space beyond. A combat 
ensued, hand to hand. Door after door fell before 
the intrepid Americans ; rank after rank of the Mexi- 
cans were swept before them ; until a white flag of 
surrender appeared on the battered parapets. 

It was a sanguinary battle — by many considered 
the most so of any during the Mexican war. The 
enemy had a very strong position, entrenched on a 
commanding hill, surrounded by massive stone walls, 
and outnumbered us three to one. But we carried 
the post against all these odds, capturing eight hun- 
dred prisoners, although at a fearful loss of life in 
our own ranks. 

The next battle in which the young Lieutenant 
participated was that of the castle of Chapultepec. 
The edifice stands on a high, rocky promontory, 
nearly precipitous, and commands the entire country 
for miles around. The western slope is the only 



68 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

point where the approach is at all gradual, and this 
is covered by a dense chapparal and forest, where the 
ground is ragged with rocks. 

On the 13th of September, of the same year, the 
battalion of the Sixth Infantry to which then Adjutant 
Hancock was attached, moved out from the conquered 
post of Molino del Eey toward Chapultepec. It was 
at the early dawn. The shadows hung deep from 
tree to tree, from rock to rock. A large force of 
Mexicans lay hidden in the darkness. Our men felt 
their way along, when, coming all at once into a com- 
paratively open space, they found themselves con- 
fronted by the frowning battlements of the castle. 
The fight began instantly. An American color- 
bearer rushed forward to the ramparts, followed, with 
loud cheers, by a body of our men, who quickly 
placed ladders against the embattled walls, and be- 
gan to scale them. Shout now followed shout as 
the soldiers sprang up the ladders and bounded over 
the wall, in the very face of the enemy. The Mexi- 
cans were taken completely by surprise. They stood 
a moment in suspense, astonished at the audacity of 
the Americans, and then dashed down, some of them 
headlong, over the precipitous rocks. Shot and shell 
poured in upon the works, like an iron torrent ; 
and it was not long ere the strong castle was a mass 



HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 69 

of ruins. A large number of prisoners surrendered 
to our gallant troops — among them General Bravo, 
and the surviving students of the Mexican National 
Military School. 

The part taken by the Sixth Infantry in this bril- 
liant battle is worthy of special mention. It was all 
the time actively engaged, including the command 
of Lieutenant Hancock, moving out from Molino del 
Key by the left flank, and soon reaching the grove 
at the base of Chapultepec. A portion dashed up 
the hill in advance, of whom Hancock was one — the 
remainder joining from the left base of the castle, 
whither it had been detached to cut off the retreat 
of the enemy — until the whole regiment, with a 
grand huzza, swept into the thickest of the fight. 
The colors of the command were advanced into the 
enclosures of the castle, and the troops rallied gal- 
lantly around them. Entering the streets beyond, 
they found themselves confronted by a breastwork 
of masonry, and a large body of the enemy posted 
behind it. From this barricade and the tower and 
windows of the adjacent church, the street was 
swept by the fire of artillery and infantry. But our 
men moved steadily on. They passed to the rear, 
flanking the Mexicans, and reaching a large building, 
which they entered by force, and, commanding the 



70 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

balconiea, poured their shot with telling effect on 
the foe. 

The Mexicans were forced back in disorder, aban- 
doning every position they had held. Our men now 
seized new points, forcing their way with their bayo- 
nets and such missiles as could be used for the pur- 
pose, tearing holes in the houses with crowbars and 
pickaxes, until they had formed a garrison around 
them. Every movement they made brought their 
fire nearer the enemy. The picked marksmen of the 
Sixth, joined now by others of the Eighth, did terri- 
ble execution. Officer after officer fell rapidly before 
their deadly aim. The two opposing forces at this 
moment were not more than thirty yards apart from 
each other. 

Soon the disordered Mexicans began to waver; 
then they broke and fled up the streets in dismay, 
our men pursuing with all their speed. It was lite- 
rally a race for life. The crashing of shells, the 
tumbling of walls, the roar of cannon, the whistling 
of bullets, the shouts of the advancing victors as 
they rushed through the sulphurous clouds surround- 
ing them, the flashes of their guns blazing like light- 
ning from their serried ranks, gave the scene one of 
the most thrilling aspects of the war. The hard- 



HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 71 

fought day was won ; and the Sixth regiment rested, 
with their comrades, on their victorious arms. 

Thus fell the castle, citadel, and town of Chapul- 
tepec. The Mexicans had barricaded their streets, 
intending to make secure use of the barricades and 
the adjacent houses to keep our men at bay. They 
supposed they would be able to destroy us all, by 
means of their protected fire. They had not calcu- 
lated on our leaving these defences unattacked, thus 
preventing exposure in the open streets, and burrow- 
ing our way under cover, to their rear, through the 
dismantled walls of their own houses. 

The enemy fought desperately during this terrible 
contest of four days. But it was all in vain. At the 
end of the fourth day the whole garrison was surren- 
dered, the Mexicans, as some return for their acknow- 
ledged valor, being permitted to march out with the 
honors of war. 

In the reports of the officers in command of the 
attacking force, the conduct of Lieutenant Hancock is 
repeatedly mentioned. In August, 1848, he was bre- 
veted first lieutenant for his gallant and meritorious 
bearing in these actions — his brevet dating from the 
20th of August, 1847. 

It was his privilege to be present when commis- 
sioners reached the American camp with proposals 



72 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

of peace. Terms of accommodation were proposed 
by them, but General Scott refused to listen to any 
but those of surrender. The morning following their 
arrival, on the 14th of September, 1847, the old hero, 
at the head of six thousand men, regulars and volun- 
teers, marched into the conquered city, and the colors 
of the United States waved from the palace of the 
Montezumas. A treaty of peace was negotiated at 
Guadaloupe Hidalgo, on the 2d of February, 1848 ; 
and on its ratification at Washington, which occurred 
soon after, the Mexican war was brought to a close. 

The part taken by Lieutenant Hancock in this war 
was further acknowledged in a series of resolutions 
adopted by the Legislature of his native State; in 
which his name, with those of other Pennsylvania sol- 
diers, was mentioned with honor, and the document 
containing them placed in his hands. 

He remained with the American army as it with- 
drew from Mexico, serving a portion of that time 
under Brigadier General Cadwalader, at Toluca. 
Before leaving, he was made Regimental Quarter- 
master of the Sixth regiment. He was among the 
last of our troops that left Mexico, and saw the Mexi- 
can flag take the place of ours, when the city was 
turned over to the Mexican government. He was 
next stationed on the Upper Mississippi, at Fort Craw- 



IS A GAIN ST 1 TIONED. 73 

ford, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where tie remained 
until the summer of 1849. 

Fort Crawford is pleasantly situated on an elevated 
part of Prairie du Chien, on the site of the old French 
town of that name, overlooking the Mississippi river, 
flowing in front of it. The rapid settlement and 
extension of our Northwestern frontier having ren- 
dered this post of little value, in a military point of 
view, it was abandoned by the government of the 
United States a few years after Lieutenant Hancock 
left it. The buildings still stand, all desolate and 
lonely, in view of the passer-by on the river. The 
silent spot is as quiet now as it was when the Indian 
first planted his foot on the shore, or his canoe had 
skimmed along the waters in front — an emblem, at 
once, of the advance of tjie power of civilization and 
the retreat of the wild savage before it. The de- 
scendants of the emigrants who first penetrated these 
once unbroken wilds will call to mind, as they look 
on the ruins of the old fort, the days when their 
ancestors roamed the forests beyond, or sped their 
way along the bosom of the Father of Waters. How 
changed the scene in the rapid march of years ! The 
steamboat is on the river — the rail-car is on the land 
■ — but the Indian and the pioneer, where are they ? 

Prairie du Chien is a point of some importance in 
7 



74 WWFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the West. It has been for several years the western 
terminus of a railway, connecting the Mississippi 
with the East. It is now the starting point of ano- 
ther road, running still further West through the 
prairie land. The town is beautifully located, and 
the capital of Crawford county, Wisconsin. It is 
about one hundred miles west of Madison, the capital 
of that fine and growing State. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Promoted to he Adjutant — His Selection of a Beautiful and Ac- 
complished Life Partner — Their two Olive Branches, and the sad 
Cypress Wreath — His good old Schoolmaster. 

DUEINGr the year 1849 Lieutenant Hancock was 
promoted to the post of regimental Adjutant. 
This position he retained until the autumn of 1855, 
being stationed throughout the whole of that period, 
six years, at St. Louis and Jefferson Barracks, Mis- 
souri. The Barracks are on the Mississippi, about 
twelve miles below St. Louis. He was on the staff 
of Brigadier General K. S. Clarke, an accomplished 
soldier and gentleman, then commanding the Sixth 
Infantry, and with whom he had served in Mexico. 

On the 24th of January, 1850, he was married to 
Miss Almira Eussell, daughter of Mr. Samuel Eus- 
sell, a much esteemed merchant of St. Louis. She 
is a lady of good sense and accomplishments, worthily 
filling the position she has been called to occupy. 

(76) 



76 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

Two children were the result of this marriage — a 
son named Eussell, after his grandfather, and a 
daughter, Ada Elizabeth, who, to the deep grief 
of her parents, died on Governor's Island when just 
of an age to enter society. Her loving mother's 
heart is even yet in that grave, and many a silent tear 
will yet dim the lustre of her noble husband's ad- 
vancement in life. 

In the month of November, 1855, through the ex- 
ertions of the Honorable John Cadwaladek, (then 
member of Congress for the district in which his 
birth-place is situated,) he was appointed an Assist- 
ant Quartermaster, with the rank of Captain. 

In the summer of 1842, while yet a cadet, Winfield 
first returned home from West Point — a furlough of 
two months being allowed each cadet in the middle 
of the four years' term. It was pleasant to the young 
officer, now about eighteen years of age, to revive the 
scenes of his boyhood. He had not forgotten home. 
His father had accompanied him, two years before, 
as he entered the Academy, and he now greeted him, 
with the mother by his side, to the dear homestead 
of other days. Instructions and counsels were re- 
newed. The worship at the family altar revived the 
sacred impressions of truth within his heart. Here, 
too, the proofs of his earlier devotion to science were 



BE VISITS HOME. 77 

reviewed ; the specimens he had labelled were re-, 
examined ; the home-made galvanic apparatus he had 
helped to construct, and which had served to illustrate 
his private lectures before his classmates, and his 
more public performances in the old academy then 
on Airy street, was tenderly handled, and carefully 
readjusted, ere it was passed by in silence ; and the 
whole paraphernalia of his incipient love of learning 
were more safely placed away in the recesses of the 
family mansion. 

The large, two-storied brick building on Airy street, 
Norristown, will long be remembered as the spot 
where Winfield and his associates of early days went 
to school. It was situated at the end of DeKalb 
street, looking down the whole length to the bridge 
crossing the Schuylkill, half a mile in front. The 
site was commanding, and well adapted for such a 
purpose. The view on all sides was very fine. The 
town lay on the gentle slope beneath, with here and 
there a spire jutting up against the sky, in the fore- 
ground. At the sides and in the rear the cultivated 
fields and gardens spangled the landscape with grass 
and flowers, while overhanging trees skirted the 
edges with their variegated fringes of beauty. The 
lovely Schuylkill swept gently on in the distance, its 
surface dotted by an occasional boat, and its mirrored 
7* 



78 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON 



waters reflecting the multiplying and ever-changing 
pictures of earth and sky. The modest hills stood 
silent beyond, clad in their sweet robes of misty blue, 
as if reluctant to cast their shadows too long or too 
deeply on the quiet rural scene. Happy school-boy 
days ! Who can forget them ? Who would forget 
them, if he could? 

The principal of the academy, in the period when 
Winfield was one of its scholars, was Mr. Eliphalet 
Eoberts — now living at 1516 Wellington St., Phila. 
His interest in his favorite, Winfield, was always 
strong and deep. We shall have occasion, in the 
course of these pages, to show with what propriety 
General Hancock recognized the teacher of his boy- 
ish years, when we come to speak of his public re- 
ception in that city, during his visit of the year 1863. 

Mr. Eoberts was succeeded in the academy and as 
a teacher to Winfield by Mr. William Hough, who 
was himself deeply interested in scientific subjects, 
and who took peculiar pleasure in fostering Win- 
field's love of chemistry and electricity. 

When the Norristown High School was established, 
under the superintendence of Mr. Ashbel G. Harned, 
Jr. — a gentleman who was very popular and success- 
ful as a teacher — Winfield was among his most favor- 
ite pupils. He remained at this school, making good 



REVISITS HOME. 79 

progress in his studies, until just previous to his 
leaving home to become a cadet. 

But with all these scholastic advantages, let it 
never be forgotten, especially by our young readers, 
that very much that Winfield was, and now is, he 
owes to the influence and instructions of home. Both 
his parents were deservedly much respected for their 
great moral and religious worth ; for their useful and 
unselfish lives. Their part in life was an unselfish 
and an earnest one — whether for the benefit of their 
family or mankind at large. In the pursuit of busi- 
ness, in the performance of duties of every kind ; 
superintending or teaching in the Sunday school, 
which was at the distance of a mile from $heir resi- 
dence, across the river ; attending to the intellectual 
wants, the spiritual aspirations of scores of these dis- 
tant children, through the heat of summer and the 
cold of winter ; visiting the sick, caring for the poor, 
relieving the oppressed ; thus were the lives of the 
honored father and mother of Winfield ripening into 
the fruitage of holy deeds, and preparing for the 
awards of a glorious immortality. The chief charac- 
teristics of his father were energy, perseverance, cau- 
tion, sound judgment, and good sense. His opinions 
have ever been highly valued by all who knew him. 
No man had been more frequently called to adjudicate 



80 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

responsible cases, bo allay exciting difficulties, to set- 
tle estates, or to manage the trust funds of the people. 
The life of Benjamin Franklin Hancock is an honor 
to his name. 

Mrs. Hancock, the mother, possessed equally mark- 
ed traits of character, of a different type. A kinder, 
more benevolent, unselfish woman it would be ex- 
tremely difficult to find. Her name was a sweet savor 
of sincere Christian piety wherever she was known. 

It is perfectly safe to say that many of the promi- 
nent traits in the distinguished character of General 
Hancock may be directly traced to the moulding in- 
fluence of his parents. 

His military education and life, and the opportu- 
nity afforded by his influential part in the checking 
of Southern secession, have developed in a remarka- 
ble degree the qualities that began to show them- 
selves in his boyhood, and that were guided and fos- 
tered at home. His ability to command, his facility 
in controlling great masses of armed men, his skill 
in the use of means, his patient industry in overcom- 
ing difficulties, his dashing energy to accomplish 
great objects in the midst of danger, may all be 
traced back, like living streams from the living foun- 
tain, to the hidden power of that one word — Home. 

The old two-storied school house near DeKalb street 



REVISITS HOME. 81 

has been swept away by the march of improvement. 
Not a vestige of it remains; and even its site is 
now hidden from view, being demanded by the exten- 
sion of the street, for the purposes of travel. Here, 
where whole generations of children have studied 
and played together, where the bum of busy search- 
ers after knowledge has sounded from the quiet walls, 
like the music of bees in and around the silent hive ; 
where the gray-haired or more juvenile teachers have 
filled their tripod with alternate joys of victory and 
sorrows of defeat ; where from this spot, once so sacred 
to learning in other days, have gone forth the boys 
who have filled their places in society, grown old as 
the teacher was, and passed, like him, away, — all now 
is given up to the rush of business, the passage of 
hurrying or tardy feet, the roll of wheels, and the 
tramp of horses. Bat, with all these and other 
changes, forever cherished shall be the memory of 
the old Airy street school-house in Norristown. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Among the "Everglades" — Stationed in the Mormon District — His 
Experiences in California — The coming Storm met by his fearless 
Patriotism. 

DURING the year 1856, when Winfield filled the 
post of Quartermaster, ranking as Captain, of 
the Sixth United States Infantry, he was stationed 
in Florida. A part of this time of service was spent 
near Saint Augustine. This is a commanding posi- 
tion, a city, port of entry, and capital of St. John's 
county. It is two hundred miles east of Tallahassee, 
and one hundred and sixty south of Savannah. It 
has the distinction of being the oldest town in the 
United States, having been settled by the Spaniards 
in 1565. Its location on the navigable waters of 
Matanzas Sound, only two miles from the Atlantic 
ocean, (from which it is separated by the island of 
Anastasia,) gives it a marked commercial and naval 
importance. 

The city stands on a plain, only a few feet above the 

(82) 



ORDERED TO FLORIDA. 83 

level of the ocean. The streets are nearly all built 
on the old Spanish pattern, being only from ten to 
eighteen feet wide. The houses and public buildings 
are usually low, the former being not more than two 
stories high, and all made of durable materials, the 
stone or shell mixture of the sea shore. The upper 
stories of the dwellings and stores project over the 
streets, so that passengers crowd along the narrow 
side-walks under the hanging verandas, while the 
horses, mules, and cattle straggle and jostle their way 
through the narrow avenues. Beside the county 
buildings there are four churches, two newspapers, 
and a United States land-office. 

The harbor of Saint Augustine is safe and com- 
modious, but the bar at the entrance prevents the 
approach to the wharves of large ships, having 
only nine or ten feet of water, at low tides. The 
climate is mild and pleasant ; the cool, refreshing 
breezes from the contiguous sea rendering the spot a 
favorite resort for invalids. Beautiful trees abound 
— the olive, the palm, the orange, and the lemon. 
The loveliest birds of the continent crowd the air, 
while choice fish and game are in abundance. Navi- 
gation is carried on between St. Augustine and New 
Orleans, Savannah, and other sea-ports, so that the 
town has become one of the largest in Florida. 



84 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

The location of Winfield was at Fort Meyers, in 
the vicinity of Saint Augustine, where he remained 
in active service until the year 1857. 

It was at this place he occupied his talents as a 
delineator in making drawings of the ground-plans 
of the old Forts and adjacent surroundings — a 
work that proudly adorned the home of his parents 
— a worthy sign of his skill and industry as a 
draughtsman. 

On the 7th of November, 1856, having been as- 
signed to more active duties in the United States 
Quartermaster General's Department, for the Western 
District, he was ordered to the United States territory 
of Utah, on the slope of the Pacific ocean, and to 
accompany General Harney on his expedition to 
Kansas and the regions beyond. 

Many persons, especially those abroad, who are 
aware of the existence of the crime of polygamy in 
Utah, are not conversant with the fact that it is 
several thousand miles distant from the national 
government, at Washington. Bad as the influence 
of that crime is on its immediate participants, and on 
the aboriginal tribes around, it should be remembered 
that those who practice it are mostly foreigners, and 
that the United States are no more responsible for it, 
in a governmental point of view, than is England for 



IN CALIFORNIA. 85 

the superstitions of her colonies in India. There is 
a moral obligation resting on all Christian people to 
root out and scatter forever this disgraceful evil; but, 
so long as its upholders maintain an organization in 
unison with the national constitution, called a 'repub- 
lican form of government,' they cannot be purged 
by force of arms. The time will surely come when 
this great violence to the civilization and Christianity 
of the nineteenth century will be removed. 

From Utah Captain Hancock was transferred to 
California, and stationed at Benicia. He was for 
some time in the Quartermaster's Department there, 
in intimate association with that superior United 
States officer, General Silas Casey. 

Benicia is located at an important point on the 
Pacific slope of the Union, and was at one time the 
capital of California. It stands on a commanding 
eminence, at the junction of the Strait of Karquenas 
with the Bays of San Pablo and Suisun. The waters 
of the vicinity are all navigable for quite large ves- 
sels, which extend their voyages up the river to Sac- 
ramento, the present State capital. 

The appearance of the country around Benicia is 
remarkable. Not a tree or shrub is to be seen in all 
its borders. The high mountain called 'Monte Dia- 
blo,' or Devil's Mountain, presents one of the wildest 
8 



86 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

objects in the world. Its jagged sides, its black, tow- 
ering peaks, its cavernous cliffs, where the spent vol- 
canic action of bygone ages has left its deep lines 
on the rifted chasms, where the thick clouds hang 
their sulphurous vapors, where terrific thunders roll 
and lurid lightnings flash, and where the upper winds 
sweep with melancholy music the chords of the lofty 
trees that crown the cold, barren summit, all unite to 
render this mountain a prominent feature in the land- 
scape to the traveller, as they have long caused it to 
be a centre of superstitious reverence and dread to 
the ignorant aborigines. On these awful and dreary 
heights their wild imaginations have reared the 
throne of the satanic presence, and surrounded it 
with the spectral illusions of a spirit-land. The 
voice of the raging winds on the towering peak is to 
them the speaking of their infernal deity. The crash- 
ing thunder is the echo of his wrath, and the light- 
ning's blaze is the glare of his kindled eye. For 
ages past they have not dared to go up the sides of 
their deified mountain beyond a certain point ; and 
here, like the children of Israel in the desert, around 
the base of Mount Sinai, they have paused and stood 
aghast with trembling awe. Even to this day, only 
here and there a solitary pilgrim pierces through the 
thick veil that hangs over these fearful heights; and, 



IN CALIFORNIA. 87 

casting aside the superstitions of the past, and gazing 
on the glorious picture of the handiwork of the true 
Deity that lives and glows on every hand beneath 
him, with Christian adoration 

"Looks through nature up to nature's God." 

To reach Benicia, Captain Hancock had crossed a 
large portion of our North American continent. He 
learned much of the country on the great plains, its 
people, its climate, its resources, its mineral treasures, 
its rivers and inland seas ; until, leaving the almost 
extreme southern shore of our Atlantic possessions, 
he stood in sight of those on the almost northern 
verge of the Pacific. 

From this post he was transferred to the old Span- 
ish town of Los Angeles — or the town of the angels 
— located in the part of the West known as Lower 
California. Here he was stationed for two years, 
still occupying his responsible position in the Depart- 
ment of the Quartermaster General of the United 
States. 

Los Angeles is located in one of the most beauti- 
ful regions in America. The coast ranges of moun- 
tains lift their breezy summits above its site, while 
teeming hillsides slope away toward the sea, and 
flowery valleys and fruitful plains skirt the scene be- 
yond. The climate is one of the most delightful on 



88 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON 

the earth. The warm airs of the plains, cooled by 
those from the mountains as they meet and mingle 
together in friendly intercourse, produce an atmo- 
sphere which it is the perfection of refreshment to 
inhale. The soil around produces a variety of the 
most different seeds and fruits ; potatoes and oranges, 
corn and figs, wheat and lemons, pears and pome- 
granates, melons and dates, wheat and rice, tobacco 
and grapes, cotton and buckwheat, sugar-cane and 
apples, grow and flourish side by side. The moun- 
tain breast of a bank may be painted white with dis- 
solving snow, while the slope toward the valley is all 
variegated with the hues of flowers. 

In this salubrious and genial clime Captain Han- 
cock made his home for two years. The great mining 
interests of the rich region adjacent drew many 
American and other settlers around him, and his 
position required the exercise of much executive 
ability. His influence was sensibly felt, and became 
quite extensive through all that part of Lower 
California. 

When the secession of 1861 took place in the 
United States, his voice and example were potential in 
arousing and extending the spirit of patriotism among 
the people. The peculiar character of a large portion 
of the immigrants to that section, especially those 



IN CALIFORNIA. 89 

from the seceded and disaffected States of the Union, 
rendered them uneasy in the crisis that had so unex- 
pectedly broken on the nation. Many of this class 
were Southerners by birth and education. Their 
kindred and their property left behind were in the 
South. They sympathized with secession ; their 
hearts were with the Southron, and they longed for 
opportunities to take up arms in their cause. Popular 
outbreaks of the most violent nature were constantly 
threatened on every hand. There was the most 
imminent danger that the whole of that large and 
rich region of country would be swept away from 
its moorings to the Union, and borne down by 
mob violence into the vortex of violence to the old 
flag. 

At this critical moment it demanded all the cool- 
ness, calmness, and courage of Captain Hancock to 
do his part in quelling the rising storm. Should it 
prevail to any extent, his own department would be 
the first to feel and suffer from its fury. The sup- 
plies and munitions of war his command was enabled 
to furnish, were tempting prizes to the ambitious 
bands that were forming and holding their gather- 
ings all around him. Some went so far as to boast 
of what they would do in possessing themselves of 
the United States commissary articles and means of 
8* 



90 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

defence committed to his charge ; while others, more 
openly rampant, threatened to tear down the national 
colors. 

In the midst of all this tempest of passion and 
fanaticism, Hancock stood firm. His personal influ- 
ence, as we have said, was great, and he exerted it 
now to the utmost. He rose to the emergencies of 
the occasion, and appealed directly to the patriotism 
of his countrymen. With the seditious aliens who 
were active in fomenting disturbances, who had 
nothing in common with the citizens who controlled 
the government by their votes, he was bold, strong, 
firm ; yielding not an inch to their insolent demands, 
and presenting the courage of a patriot heart and 
the force of a gallant arm to their treasonable 
threats. 

Thus Hancock met these distant and isolated 
seceders in one of their own strongholds. Thus he 
upheld, on that far-off Pacific slope, the flag of his 
country, the integrity of the Union, and the rights 
of man. His course in Lower California met the 
approval of the government and of all our country- 
men who are conversant with its high merits. His 
name will ever be honored on account of it, not only 
on the shores of the Pacific, but those of the Atlan- 



IN CALIFORNIA. 91 

tic, all through the United States. He had the hap- 
piness to witness the subsidence of this incipient 
rebellion, and to hear the cry awake and continue to 
resound on every hand : 

"Forever float that standard sheet! 

Where breathes the foe but falls before us? 
With freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
And freedom's banner waving o er usi* 



CHAPTER X. 

The Stars and Bars vs. the Stars and Stripes — Winfield Scott Han- 
cock Rises to the Occasion — The Soldier-Statesman who Knew no 
Politics but the Policy of the Union, Earning the Eight to become 
the First of American Citizens. 

AT his own earnest request, Quartermaster Han- 
cock was transferred from his responsible but 
comparatively quiet post on the Pacific, to the more 
active scenes that stirred the pulses of the Atlantic 
coast, at the middle of the year 1861. His position 
in California was one of great relative importance, 
but the routine duties of a Quartermaster had never 
been suited to the energetic and courageous character 
of such a man as he has proved himself to be. As 
soon, therefore, as the necessary official preliminaries 
could be effected, he was on his way to the field of 
battle. 

In the month of September, 1861, he landed in 
New York. Without stopping even a moment to 
visit his parents, at Norristown, although he had now' 

(92) 



IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 93 

been absent from them over two years, in a distant 
part of the country, he pushed on, within a few hours 
of his arrival, to Washington, and immediately re- 
ported himself to the War Department, ready for 
active service. His mind was deliberately made up 
to the great issue. His life was again in his hand 
for his beloved country. His valuable services were 
at once accepted, and he placed in the front of the 
fight. 

Here let us pause a moment, and take a survey of 
the field. 

When, in the month of November, 1860, a large 
majority of the voters of America had declared the 
then incumbent was constitutionally elected President 
of the United States, it was clearly the duty of the 
minority to abide by the law, and yield obedience to 
the verdict. If they had been fairly outvoted at this 
election — and it is not pretended by any one but 
they were — the fundamental oaths, the democratic 
canons of the country, affirmed that the government 
should still be maintained, the laws administered, the 
powers and emoluments of office transmitted, until a 
new trial should confirm or reverse the result. The 
same sacred right of suffrage had been enjoyed by 
all the electors of the nation. Three parties, with 
distinct national issues, were in the arena ; but all 



94 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

three openly swore allegiance to the same national 
standard, and vowed devotion to the same national 
Union. Secession, Disunion, Rebellion, were not in 
that presidential canvass. The election, with its 
greatly increased vote, with all the momentous and 
exciting issues at stake, was one of the most quiet 
ever held in the country. No one was molested in 
public or private discussions of the vast questions 
involved in the contest. There was not a life lost at 
the polls, where millions of men, each one as free and 
as good as another in the eye of the law, marched to 
the ballot-boxes of their voting precincts, and cast 
their votes for the candidates of their choice. No one, 
in all that vast host of qualified suffragants, of equal 
peers, yea, of reigning sovereigns, could with pro- 
priety rudely ask or threaten his fellow at the polls : 

" Under which king, Bezonian ? 
Speak, or die!" 

Every intelligent elector was his own king. Every 
responsible vote he cast was his own royal edict. 

We have said the questions of Secession, Disunion 
and Rebellion were not in this great constitutional 
contest of voters. It is not to be understood by this 
historical statement, however, that the relative value 
of, and purpose to continue, the Union, were not 
passed upon by the people in that election. On the 



IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION 95 

contrary, they were so passed upon, and that, too, 
in the most decided, unequivocal manner. That 
vote of that large majority of the American people 
was, in fact, a strong, clear, emphatic constitu- 
tional endorsement of the Union of the States by 
the highest power in the land known to the laws. 
It was the sovereign verdict of the United States 
that the United States should continue. It was 
the constitution re-indorsing the constitution. It 
was the Union again pouring its own life blood 
through the living cycle of the Union. It was a 
national salute to the national flag, wherever it floated, 
around the world. Could anything of the kind be 
more nationally significant? Could anything be 
more nationally potential ? 

Thus stood the case when the final announcement 
of the decision was flashed along the electric wire, 
from the Atlantic, on the East, to the Pacific, on the 
West ; from the inland seas, on the North, to the 
Gulf of Mexico, on the South. 

What then ? What became the duty of the ma- 
jority ? What became, also, the duty of the minority ? 
It was the duty of Jie one to assume the reins of gov- 
ernment, and conduct the public affairs of the country 
in the spirit and precepts of its founders ; with becom- 
ing gravity to count and publish the votes of the 



96 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

different electoral colleges, in the consecrated halls 
of the several legislatures ; to sign, seal, certify and 
forward the official ballot to the national archives, in 
the national capital, and make proclamation of the 
nation's choice ; to inaugurate the man of that choice 
with all the solemn forms and rituals of law known 
to the constitution and established by the precedents 
of the fathers ; to require that chosen man, and his 
associates in the offices in which, as the vicegerents 
of the people, the people had just placed them, to 
take upon their souls, in the presence of Almighty 
God and of all witnesses, the most sacred oaths ever 
administered from man to man, the record of which 
is to be forever on high. 

Thus elected, thus inaugurated, by the virtue of 
the power they derived from their constituents, the 
people of America, what could any of these men do 
but obey their commands? Had a majority of this 
people declared by their votes that they held their 
Union to be a mere confederation of States? No. 
Ilad they admitted, for a moment, since they became 
a distinct nation, that they held their constitution to 
be a mere treaty between independent sovereignties ? 
No. Had they delegated the powers invested by them 
in a consolidated nation, to be divided up between 
thirty-six or more distinct nationalities ? No. Had 



IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 97 

they, at any time, given up their right, entrusted to 
their national rulers, to declare war and make peace, to 
negotiate treaties, to establish a currency, to regulate 
commerce between the separate States, or to punish 
treason, as a nation ? 'No. 

What then ? The United States was a nation — 
a nation intact, sovereign, independent ; composed of 
States that are separate as to their State rights, yet 
as to the Union in a nation, 

" Distinct, as the billows, yet one, as the sea." 

This was the view, and the only view, taken of our 
national existence by the great Father of our Coun- 
try, and by all the patriots and statesmen who founded 
the Republic. To put in practice as a nation any 
other doctrine than this, is deliberately to commit 
national suicide, and lay the last hope of liberty and 
constitutional government on the American continent 
in the darkness and silence of the grave. 

The election of a constitutional President of the 
United States having, then, been constitutionally de- 
clared, with all the solemnities of national law, what 
moral insanity, what political frenzy, what intellectual 
madness must have possessed those leading men of 
the Southern part of our Union, who, because they 
were actually defeated in a fair election, without wait- 
ing for the action of the government their fellow- 



98 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

citizens of the Eepublic had thus chosen, lifted the 
dread standard of secession against the nation of their 
fathers and ours, and plunged the whole land, includ- 
ing millions of helpless women and little children, in 
all the horrors of a fratricidal war 1 

" Patriot and faction, 
Like oil and water mix, when strongly shaken j 
But never can unite — disjoined by nature." 

It was in this spirit that Captain Hancock enlisted 
in the war for the Union. He had seen in California, 
and in other parts of the country, the malign influ- 
ences that began the war on the part of Disunion. 
He saw now that one or the other must perish. To 
refuse to fight under the flag that had made him all 
that he was as a military man, and that was sacred to 
him and all other patriots by all its glorious antece- 
dents, was not only to prove himself the vilest of 
ingrates, but it was to participate in the follies of 
those misled men who, having failed in their attempts 
to continue to rule the country, were now madly bent 
on its ruin. As a patriot, bearing the honored names 
of a patriot soldier and statesman, his course was 
plain. He heard the trumpet call of duty, and hasted 
to obey the summons. His cadet vows were yet upon 
him, and gratefully and proudly hj renewed them at 
the altar of the Union. He at once accepted the post 
assigned him, and entered with noble ardor on that 



IN THE WjR FOR THE UNION. 99 

career for the complete suppression of the rebellion, 
which we shall continue further to depict. 

With all his brilliancy and dash as a soldier, Han- 
cock did not participate in the scenes of war we are 
describing, from a mere love of fighting. He chose 
the profession of arms in his youth from a conviction 
of duty. He now continued in it, in his manhood, 
actuated by the patriotic belief that 'resistance to 
tyrants is obedience to God.' 

We put on record here his avowal of the princi- 
ples that guide him in all contests for our country. 
They are contained in a private letter of his to a friend, 
to whom we and our readers are deeply indebted for 
many of the important facts embodied in this volume. 

These are his own words : 

"My politics are of a practical kind. The 
integrity of the country. the supremacy of 
the federal government. an honorable peace, 



"Far dearer the grave, or the prison, 
Illumed by one patriot name, 
Than the trophies of those who hare risen 
On liberty's ruin to fame." 



CHAPTER XL 

A ripe Military Man, a true Patriot, and an Unflinching Loyalist 
— His further Promotion at the Instance of General McClellan — 
His long March across the Continent from Benicia. 

AT the time of his reporting for duty in "Wash- 
ington, in the month of September, 1861, Captain 
Hancock was thirty-eight years of age. He had served 
his country in the various positions assigned him in 
the army during a period of seventeen years. The 
most of this service had been rendered in Mexico, or 
west of the Mississippi river, and in the everglades 
of Florida. 

In all the ranks of the army, among officers and 
men, he stood deservedly high. By his strict devo- 
tion to duty, his invariable courage, energy and pa- 
triotic enthusiasm, he had secured the confidence and 
attachment of all who knew him. Correct in his 
personal habits, polite, affable, friendly with all, un- 
selfish and hospitable, he was a favorite wherever he 
went 

(100) 




At the Age of 37. 



BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 101 

He had his own opinions on all national questions, 
and was prepared to express and defend them. Al- 
though never a politician, and never having voted, his 
sympathies and convictions had always been with the 
Democratic party. But, like a true patriot, he never 
gave up to party what was due to mankind. He was 
firm and conscientious in the belief that Secession 
was Disunion ; that Disunion was civil war — a crime 
against the honor, welfare and happiness of the 
American people. He had proved his stand on this 
issue by his patriotic course against the first dawn- 
ings of every attempt at Disunion, in California. 
By his personal presence and voice on that occasion, 
he had not only stemmed the incipient risings of 
the deep discontent, but he had rendered signal ser- 
vice to the Union by addressing the inhabitants in 
public on several occasions, and organizing and 
directing that public sentiment which exerted so 
potential an influence in maintaining the loyalty of 
that part of the Golden State in which he resided. 

He proclaimed everywhere, and was always ready 
to maintain the opinion — if need be, with his trusty 
sword — that no grievknces of which the citizens of 
the Southern States might justly complain, could 
warrant or empower them to revolt against the con- 
stitutional government of the nation. His great- 
9* 



102 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

grandfather and grandfather had both fought in the 
war of the Revolution and in that of 1812, with 
Great Britain, to establish and perpetuate the Union 
of the States. It was not for him, who had sprung 
from such an ancestry, who had received such patri- 
otic lessons in his boyhood, who had taken such ob- 
ligations and acquired such a national education in 
the Military Academy belonging to all the Union, 
and who had already done valiant service under the 
time-honored flag of his country, basely now to prove 
recreant to all these inspirations of duty, with igno- 
minious cowardice to sheathe his sword in ignoble 
ease, or with infamous treachery to wield it against 
the dear-bought liberties of his native land. 

Acting on these high-toned convictions as an Amer- 
ican patriot, he had offered his services, at the moment 
of the first avowal of a secession, to the Governor 
of Pennsylvania. As a native of the State, as a 
thoroughly-educated soldier of the regular Army, 
as an officer of established bravery and popularity 
with his troops, his valuable services would have 
been gladly accepted in such a command. But be- 
fore the ai rangement could be consummated he was 
on duty ai Washington, in the service of the United 
States. Here he was immediately assigned to the 
post of Chief Quartermaster, on the staff of General 



BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 103 

Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter, who 
had been placed in command of the Union forces in 
his native State of Kentucky. 

While preparing to comply with this order of the 
War Department, only a very few days after his return 
from his post in California, he was proposed to the 
government by General McClellan, then General- 
in-Chief of the army, for a commission as Brigadier 
General. This proposal was made unexpectedly to 
Captain Hancock, and without any solicitation on 
the part of his friends. The appointment was de- 
cided on his merits alone, and as such made by Presi- 
dent Lincoln, on the 23d of September, 1861. It 
was at once accepted, and the new Brigadier prepared 
himself for active service. 

His experience in the cause of his country had 
already been varied and extensive. In Mexico, on 
the frontiers, among hostile Indians, in Florida, fight- 
ing the brave and wily Seminoles, associated with 
such commanders as Generals Worth, Harney, Colo- 
nels Clarke, Brown, James Monroe, and others, 
he had acquired a knowledge of military affairs, 
of-s'^rategy, and the best methods of commanding 
men that he was now enabled to turn to good account 
for his country. His campaign to Fort Leavenworth, 
in 1856-7, had been productive of peculiarly import- 



104 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ant results. From Florida to Kansas, and while 
remaining in the latter State, until the spring of 1858, 
lie had signalized his skill and devotion as a soldier. 

The expedition of General Harney to Utah having 
been abandoned by the government, Captain Hancock 
had been ordered to proceed, as Chief Quartermaster, 
to the occupation of Fort Bridger, one of the out- 
posts of our Western frontier. From this point he 
accompanied his old regiment, the efficient and pop- 
ular Sixth Infantry, through their long march across 
the continent to Benicia, California. This march was 
probably the longest continuous one ever taken by 
any body of infantry troops. It carried them through 
an immense tract of wild, savage country, where 
inimical Indians swarmed, at times, on every hand. 
The deep snows of the Sierra Nevada range of moun- 
tains — the highest summits of which have an elevation 
of sixteen thousand feet, and whose line extends all 
through the Sta.te of California, from the town of Los 
Angeles to the Cascades of Oregon — had to be en- 
countered and overcome, the troops and horses sup- 
plied with rations, and the peculiar surprises and 
sudden dangers of that weary route of thousands of 
miles, constantly guarded against. 

For the skillful management of the onerous duties 
of his department, all through this difficult march, 



BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 105 

Captain Hancock received and justly deserved great 
credit. 

It was now toward the close of the month of Sep- 
tember, 1861. The army of the United States was 
not then fully organized. There was much inexpe- 
rience and occasional demoralization among our raw 
troops. • With all their patriotism and general intel- 
ligence, as citizen soldiers, they could not always be 
depended on in sudden emergencies and moments of 
critical danger. In the responsible work of their 
organization, drill, discipline, and setting in the field 
of action, General Hancock was called to take a 
prominent part. His remarkable traits of character, 
now ripened into full manhood, here displayed their 
worth in the service to the greatest advantage. He 
was at home, in his own chosen field. We shall see, 
as we progress, how worthily he continued to fill his 
role. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Sis Brigade on the Potomac — -His quiet Method of Dealing with 
Spies — The Actual Opening of the Bread Fraternal Strife — Han- 
cock's Presence everywhere the Signal for Enterprise and Activity. 

THE beautiful fall of September, 1861, dawned 
on the country. The national forces were now 
nearly organized. Troops were arriving at the front 
from all the free States, and gradually taking part in 
the conflict. The most busy fields of action at that 
time were in Missouri and Western Yirginia. In the 
last-named region, especially, the confederated men 
were very belligerent, being constantly stimulated by 
their allies in civil life all around them. It was 
soon perceived that the contest for the supremacy of 
the Union in tiiat section would be prolonged and 
severe. 

Eighting had taken place early in this month at 

(106) 



HIS FIItST FIGHT FOU THE UNION. 1 07 

several points along the Western Virginia lines. At 
Boone Court House, Boone county — named in honor 
of the old pioneer, Daniel Boone, of Kentucky — the 
Union troops had encountered a body of armed " Se- 
cesh" and signally defeated them. This point is only 
about two hundred miles, in a direct line, west from 
Richmond. But the contest there speedily convinced 
the Southrons the Union would not consent to allow 
any part of the Old Dominion it could control to 
pass, without a struggle, under the new flag Stars and 
Bars. Our troops, fresh, and comparatively undis- 
ciplined as they were, fought well on this occasion. 
We drove the enemy at all points, routing them to- 
tally, killing thirty, wounding a large number, and 
taking over forty prisoners. None were killed on 
the National side, and but six were wounded. The 
town was burned during the engagement. 

A picked body of the Charleston, South Carolina, 
Home Guards, who had penetrated through the She- 
nandoah country to within a short distance of Har- 
per's Ferry, Virginia, were attacked by the Thirteenth 
regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. The so-called 
' Yankees' performed their parts so well on the ' chiv- 
alry' that they soon drove them, pell-mell, killing 
three, wounding five, and capturing twenty prisoners. 
These, with the wounded, were brought into camp by 



108 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the Massachusetts boys, who greeted them blandly 
with the song 'Gay and Happy.' 

Victories were being won by the Union arms in 
different parts of the country. We had captured 
Forts Hatteras and Clark, on the coast of North Car- 
olina, possessed several important points on the West- 
ern waters, and done the enemy considerable damage 
in Missouri, while he was pursuing the Fabian policy 
of masterly inactivity by remaining in his trenches 
in Virginia. 

The patriotic feeling of the country was steadily 
rising. Large popular meetings were held, presided 
over by the civil authorities, and addressed in earnest 
and courageous strains of patriotism by eminent men 
of all parties. General Eosecrans — formerly, it will 
be remembered, a fellow Lieutenant with General 
Hancock, in Mexico — had won a decided victory near 
Summersville, Virginia. The effect of this victory 
was marked, through all that region to which Han- 
cock was at that time assigned. The bold General 
Floyd — notorious as the prominent secessionist who, 
when the nominal Union Secretary of War, at Wash- 
ington, had very artfully sequestrated all the govern- 
ment arms and munitions of war under his control 
to the special purposes of the South — was then in 
position near the summit of Carnifax mountain, with 



HIS FIRST FIOHT FOR THE UNION. 109 

five thousand Secesh troops and sixteen pieces of 
artillery. The rear and extreme of both flanks of 
the enemy were inaccessible. The front was masked 
with heavy forests and a dense jungle. The brigade 
commanded by General Benham — one of the most 
accomplished and energetic of all our soldiers — was 
in the advance, and assailed the enemy with such skill 
and force that they were driven, on a number of occa- 
sions, from their guns. Several companies of picked 
Irish troops, led by Colonel Lytle, of the Tenth Ohio, 
charged the battery, in the face of the hottest fire 
that the enemy could pour from the heights. A Ger- 
man brigade, under Colonel McCook — son of the old 
patriot Judge Daniel McCook, of Kentucky, who 
has given himself and four sons to the war for his 
country — followed in the assault with great bravery, 
and, for a time, silenced the battery. 

Floyd, as usual with his consummate artifice, fled 
during the night ; but the depth of the adjacent river 
over which he passed in his flight, and the obstruc- 
tions thrown by him in his way, prevented a success- 
ful pursuit. He left his camp, however, as a trophy 
to the Union, including his own equipage, together 
with wagons, horses, large quantities of ammunition 
and fifty head of cattle. 

In Hardy Co., Virginia, the gray coats had been 

10 



HO WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

seriously worsted in several hard-fought engage- 
ments. A number of camps were captured from 
them, containing large supplies of guns, uniforms, 
ammunition, horses, teams, and grain. 

On the 13th of September, of this year, the battle 
of Cheat Mountain had been fought and won by the 
Union forces. The Secesh had erected a strong fort 
on the summit. This our troops succeeded in sur- 
rounding, where they cut the telegraph wire to pre- 
vent its being used by the enemy. This position 
was deemed by the grays one of the most command- 
ing in Western Virginia. But they could not stand 
against the shells of the Union batteries ; they precipi- 
tately fled before our artillerists, leaving their dead 
and wounded behind them. 

The introduction of General Hancock to his new 
field was the signal for continued activity. His best 
energies were all taxed to prepare his command for 
constant duty. 

The army was now rapidly reaching its appropriate 
proportions. The command of Hancock was conse- 
quently assuming a relative importance. His Brig- 
ade consisted of the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, Forty- 
third New York, Fifth Wisconsin, and Ninth Maine, 
in the Division of General W. F. Smith. On the 



HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION. \\\ 

9th of October, 1861, his Brigade held the advance 
position on the Potomac, occupying Lewinsville. 

The first battle at this point had taken place on 
the 11th of the preceding September. On the morn- 
ing of that day a party consisting of several detached 
companies of infantry, a company of cavalry, and 
Captain Griffin's battery of light artillery, the whole 
in command of Colonel Stevens of the New York 
Highlanders, broke camp, and started for the enemy. 
The adverse pickets retired beyond Lewinsville as 
our troops advanced. Having accomplished the 
object of their reconnoissance, our men were about to 
return, when a large force of the enemy, consisting of 
two regiments of infantry and Colonel Stuart's regi- 
ment of Virginia cavalry, with a battery of four 
pieces, were seen approaching. The line of battle 
was immediately formed. The enemy commenced 
shelling in front, and were promptly replied to by 
Griffin. Every opportunity was now given the enemy 
to meet ns in the open field ; but they very prudently 
kept under the coverts of the woods, doing what exe- 
cution they could at a respectful distance. 

The national forces now brought into action a 
thirty-two-pound gun, which speedily and effectually 
silenced the batteries of the enemy. He was evi- 
dently glad to show signs of retiring. At this mo- 



112 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ment the gun was brought to bear on their cavalry, 
who now appeared in the open road, which sent them 
frying and reeling from their saddles in all directions. 

The movement was a success, and the troops en- 
gaged returned to camp in good order, where they 
received the corgratulations of the General in com- 
mand. 

These preliminary engagements with the enemy 
showed their near approach and constant activity. 
They were out in every direction, scouring the coun- 
try for conscripts and supplies. Even at that early 
period of the war, Disunion began to feel its growing 
necessities for men, provisions, and munitions. Their 
forays became more and more frequent, as their wants 
steadily increased. At the commencement of the 
rebellion they had plunged into war wtth reckless 
ferocity, and their troops had all the advantage over 
ours of much greater experience, drill, and discipline. 
The whole Southern country had been transformed 
into one great camp. Every arms-bearing citizen 
was held to be a soldier ; every crop was regarded as 
pledged to the warlike purposes of the time. In the 
cities of the South, especially, the dangerous charac- 
ter of the institution of slavery, where large masses 
of slaves were liable to assemble together under the 
influence of those of their class who had by any 



HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION. H3 

means obtained the boon of freedom, it bad been the 
custom for years to maintain regular bodies of troops, 
many of whom were well-mounted cavalry, ready to 
be called out, at the tap of the drum, to put down a 
servile insurrection. The commanders of these 
drilled bands of men were the leaders, to a great 
extent, of the secession. Their seat of war had 
been transferred from their slave marts and planta- 
tions to the lines confronting the Union colors. They 
not only fought desperately, but they fought method- 
ically. Their best men were soldiers by birth, by 
profession, and practice. 

Against these chosen myrmidons of the slave 
power the nation had hurriedly assembled, at the call 
of duty, such regular troops as could be spared from 
important frontier and central posts, and the hardy 
volunteers who had rushed from their homesteads 
and farms, their shops and ships, from road-side and 
sea-side, to defend the national honor and preserve 
the national life. Is it any wonder that, at the first 
onset, our undisciplined ranks, fight as portions of 
them might, would show signs of precipitancy, and 
inexperience ? Nay, is it not a wonder that at the 
commencement of this war, like our fathers beating 
back with their untried columns the serried veterans 

of England, we should have fought as well as we did ? 
10* H 



114 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

At the time General Hancock engaged in his first 
fight on the lines of the Potomac, and in other parts 
of Virginia, spies and artful emissaries swarmed all 
around him. He was constantly on the alert for 
these decoys of the enemy. 

A few weeks after he had gone to the front, three 
companies of the Cameron Dragoons, under Major S. 
E. Smith, commanded respectively by Captain Wil- 
son, Company F, Lieutenant Stetson, Company H, and 
Lieutenant Hess, Company C, were sent out on a 
scout along the roads leading to Fairfax Court House 
and Hunter's Mills, Yirginia. Arriving at a point 
about a mile distant from Fairfax Court House, these 
three officers, with eight privates, encountered an 
equal number of the adverse cavalry. They imme- 
diately attacked the enemy, but they fled in haste to 
a contiguous cover of woods. In the hurry of the 
chase they passed through a fruit orchard, when one 
of the pursued dismounted, and resting his five- 
shooter against a tree, fired three shots at Major 
Smith. All of them passed him. 

The party now attempted to draw the enemy from 
their woody cover, but in vain. Soon after they 
joined their companions of the main body, and rode 
on to Hunter's Mills. When near the latter place, 
Captain Wilson and Lieutenant Stetson discovered a 



HIS FIRST FIGHT FOE THE UNION. 115 

soldier — the same who had been trying to kill the 
Major with his carbine from behind the shelter of a 
tree — now endeavoring to escape. They dashed after 
the man, and soon returned with him as a prisoner 
to camp. He was immediately brought to the pres- 
ence of General Hancock, who recognized him, by 
his appearance, to be a dangerous spy. 

"Your name is Vollin, I believe?" said the General. 

"Yes, sir," replied the captive, for a moment 
thrown off his guard. 

"Ah! Vollin — or Villain — I am glad to see you. 
We have been looking for you for some time past." 

Mr. Vollin, or Villain, was appropriately cared for. 
The General had dealt with spies before. 

"You are aware of the fate usually awarded to 
spies, Mr. Vollin ?" continued Hancock. 

"I — sup — pose — I — am," stammered the guilty 
wretch. 

" Then you will please prepare for it at your earli- 
est convenience, Mr. Vollin ! Good morning, sir." 

The brigade of General Hancock was specially 
serviceable in the work of procuring supplies. On 
different occasions hay, corn, sheep, and beef cattle 
were brought in by his men, to the evident disgust 
of the losers and to the satisfaction of all who had 
the right to share in the spoils of war. The enemy 



116 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

soon found that their foraging parties were not the 
only ones in the field. 

On the 21st of October he accompanied and took 
part in the reconnoissance made by the heavy de- 
tachment sent out from his camp to Flint Hill, Vir- 
ginia. The party consisted of portions of Mott's and 
Ayres's batteries, and companies of the Fifth Kegu- 
lars, and from Colonel Freeman's regiment of artillery 
attached to the Division of General "W. F. Smith. 
This timely movement resulted in discovering the 
position of the enemy, and the apparent number of 
his forces in the vicinity. It was one of the first 
reconnoitring parties in which Hancock participated 
in his new position of Brigadier General. 

The spirit that animated the Union troops under 
Hancock, at the time of which we are now writing, 
is well illustrated by an incident. It is one of many 
of a similar character then taking place. 

After the battle of Ball's Bluff, of the 21st of Oc- 
tober, in which the gifted and gallant Senator Ed- 
ward D. Baker so nobly fell for his country and 
liberty, the brave soldiers who had borne themselves 
so steadily in that fight were publicly addressed : 

" Soldiers !" said the speaker, " these are terrible 
gaps that I see before me in your ranks. They remind 
me, and you all, of our dead on the field of battle; 






HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION. 117 

of our wounded comrades in the hospitals ; of kin- 
dred and friends weeping at home for those who 
filled the vacant places that once knew them, but 
that shall now know them no more forever. 

Soldiers ! I ask you now and here, in full view of 
all this, are you ready again to meet the rebellious 
foe ? Are you willing again to peril your lives for 
the liberties of your country ? Would you go with 
me to the field to-morrow ? Would you go to-day ? 
Would you go this moment ?" 

There was but the pause of an instant, when the 
reply, "Yes I" "Yes!" "Yes!" came with a shout 
from the thousands of the line. 

The commander was answered. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Campaign o/1862. — The Valley of the Shenandoah — Burnside 
at Roanoke Island — Big Bethel — A "Sick Man" inconveniently 
Captured — "My Husband's Aunt Betty." 

THE campaign of the Union forces in Virginia 
during the winter of 1862, with all its quiet, 
possessed a great relative importance. The public 
sentiment of the country, which had been almost 
wildly enthusiastic at the first outbreak of the civil 
war, was now beginning to settle down on a calmer 
basis. There was as much real patriotism in the 
land, but it was not so demonstrative as it had been. 
Our contest was beginning to assume an overshad- 
owing importance in the eyes of the European na- 
tions. The leaders of opinion there were evidently 
much surprised at the extent of the preparations so 
readily and continuously made by the United States. 
Our successes, notwithstanding the manifest disad- 
vantages under which we fought, had more than 

(118) 



IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 119 

equalled our own expectations. The sentiments of 
the masses of the most intelligent people of Europe 
were turning strongly in our favor, although the aris- 
tocracy and their allies endeavored, by the most infa- 
mous falsehoods, to mislead and silence it. The 
wicked hope was indulged by the enemy at home and 
their sympathizers here and abroad, that the vast 
multitude of the laboring classes, who were suffering 
so bitterly for want of work in consequence of the 
famine of American cotton, would rise in revolt 
against their own rulers, and thus, on the plea of 
domestic revolution and anarchy, compel foreign 
governments to intervene in American affairs. This 
would have exactly suited the South. It was their 
constant inspiration, their unfailing aspiration, by 
day and by night. Such an intervention as they 
thus hoped, prayed and plotted for, would hav« 
brought us into war with England and France, com- 
pelled the opening of our blockaded ports, supplied 
the South with money and munitions of war, divided 
the North, and secured an ignoble peace in the cer- 
tain destruction of the Union. 

But the operations of this gigantic and nefarious 
plot were no sooner commenced than they were dis- 
covered and thwarted. By the special favor of that 
Divine Providence which, in the language of Jeffer- 



120 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

SON, 'ever manifests its interest in the affairs of na- 
tions/ our crops had been more abundant that year 
than ever before. We had enough not only to sup- 
ply the wants of the people at home, to furnish the 
vast rations required for our immense army and 
navy, but we were able to begin to send those car- 
goes of food to the starving operatives abroad, the 
reception of which during that year, and the early 
part of the year following, by these victims of the 
foolish secession in America, at once opened their 
eyes to the true nature of our great struggle, and 
made the vast majority of them, as they are at this 
day, our firm and devoted friends. The threatened 
foreign revolt in favor of the aristocratic and slav- 
ocratic treason of America was thus nipped in the 
bud. It was literally choked in its very birth with 
the fulness of bread sent to its needy cradle by the 
American Union. The occupation of the alien and 
native plotters for the overthrow of our Eepublic, like 
that of Othello, was all gone. 

" The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples," 

which the charlatan oligarchs, the sham aristocrats 
and lying priests of American slavery had thus madly 
endeavored to rear on the ruins of the United States, 
were speedily dissolved; 



IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 121 

" And, like an unsubstantial pageant faded, 
Left not a wreck behind." 

This mistaken spirit of sympathy with the most 
serious secession the world ever saw, has since shown 
itself, and will probably continue to show itself, in 
various ways, at different times and places ; but, like 
a serpent with its head crushed to the earth, while it 
may endeavor to ' drag its slow length along,' it must 
sooner or later die the accursed death it so richly 
deserves. Liberty must finally triumph. Man, every- 
where, must yet be free. 

The encampment of the great body of the Union 
force immediately in front of Washington, had the 
effect not only to afford complete protection to the 
national capital and to secure the mobilization, the 
drill, and discipline of large masses of raw troops, 
but it drove the enemy into positions they were poorly 
prepared to occupy. It was stated, on Southern au- 
thority, that some portions of the army under their 
General Lee, were reduced to the last extremities. 
On one occasion he was entirely out of provisions, 
not having the means to cook the next meal for him- 
self, or to serve the next ration to his soldiers. His 
outposts were abandoned, one after another, and he 
made the best of his way to his winter quarters. In 
this expedient he was compelled to take the only 
11 



122 WWFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON". 

position he could maintain in all that part of Vir- 
ginia he endeavored to occupy. This was the first 
lesson of the kind taught the haughty leaders of the 
rebellion ; and it is evident that its effect was not lost 
upon them, nor on those they so madly led into dan- 
ger in so bad a cause. 

Several important skirmishes occurred during this 
winter. The South's foraging parties were frequently 
met by those of the Union, affording fresh opportu- 
nities to prove the mettle of our men. On one occa- 
sion, the active General Stuart, on whose dauntless 
prowess much dependence was placed by his associ- 
ates and followers in the South, was met by the Union 
General Ord, and severely worsted. Stuart had with 
him in his foray four regiments of infanty and a six- 
gun battery ; but he was completely routed, losing 
many in killed and prisoners. 

The spring of 1862 opened on the country under 
a steady advance of the Union cause. Our limits 
confine us more particularly to those events in which 
General Hancock took an immediate part. The very 
important Confederate position at Port Koyal, South 
Carolina, had been captured late the preceding fall. 
Several battles had been won in Missouri, Kentucky, 
at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and on the Western waters, 
and a new impulse given to the navy by the launching 



IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 123 

of several of the new iron Monitors. The pulse of 
the people beat stronger than ever for the Union. 

The Union forces under General Banks were ad- 
vancing through the Valley of the Shenandoah, and 
the general aspects of the campaign were favorable ; 
but the first great movement of the spring of '62 was 
that made on the Virginia Peninsula, in the direction 
of Eichmond. 

The period of muster and drill in encampment had 
passed. The commanding General of that portion 
of the national forces known as the army of the 
Potomac, addressed his troops with the assurance 
that he considered them ' magnificent in material, 
admirable in discipline and instruction, excellently 
equipped and armed,' and led by commanders who 
were all that could be desired. Heroic exertions, 
rapid and long marches, desperate conflicts and se- 
vere privations were announced as before them. 

It was now the middle of March, and the glorious 
news had come of the victory of Burnside over the 
South at Eoanoke Island and ISTewbern, North Caro 
lina. Bj this victory Ave had captured three light, 
batteries of field artillery, forty-six heavy siege guns, 
large stores of fixed ammunition, three thousand 
stands of small arms, and several thousand prisoners. 

The important preparations for the contemplated 



124 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

onward movement were completed in March, and 
near the close of that month the army was transferred 
from its camp, fronting Washington, to the Peninsular 
region extending from Fortress Monroe, in Virginia, 
up the waters of the James and York rivers. 

Our first reconnoissance in that direction resulted 
in our occupying the commanding and somewhat 
celebrated position of Big Bethel. It was at this 
point, about a year before, that one of our first bat- 
tles occurred with the enemy — resulting, in conse- 
quence of false information given by scouts, in the 
death of Major Theodore Winthrop and Lieuten- 
ant John T. Greble — two of the most accomplished 
and gallant soldiers in the United States army. 

The occupation of this post by our troops was a 
surprise as well as a disadvantage to the enemy. A 
strong detachment of infantry, cavalry and artillery 
was detailed for the purpose, accompanied by two 
companies of Berdan's Sharp-shooters, in the advance. 
Gray coats, as usual, were met at various points of 
the route. Every bush, and house, and fence was 
carefully watched for the peering eye or ri41e of some 
hidden enemy. But only women and children were 
to be seen. If there were any secession belligerents 
about, they were too closely hid to be seen by our 
advance. Some of the Union yeomanry looked good- 



IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 125 

naturedly at us from their fields, door-yards and 
piazzas, as we passed silently on. 

There are numerous comfortable and handsome 
mansions in this vicinity. The soil and climate are 
highly favorable to agriculture, and the associations 
of the route gave a peculiar interest to the march. 
But the most of the mansions and plantations were 
deserted, their late occupants having taken service in 
the opposing army. 

As our troops passed from the open country into 
the woody interval occupied by the works of Big 
Bethel, they found that the enemy had deserted them. 
This was rather a surprise to us ; for, after the boast- 
ing we had heard that the chivalry never would run, 
whatever might be the odds against them, we ex- 
pected, of course, they would make a stand here — 
especially as their works were strong and well sur- 
rounded for defence. 

There were five breastworks in the fortification, 
each a few rods in length. Three of them mounted 
one gun. The other two were of greater dimensions, 
mounting six guns each. On the right flank was a 
dense grove, which afforded material protection. 
The broad space in front, a part of which was marshy 
and miry, sloped toward the York river, and was 
fully commanded by the guns. 
11* 



126 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

It was soon perceived that there were gray soldiers 
on the opposite shore of the stream. A few shots 
sent among them by our sharp-shooters caused a 
speedy stampede. In their flight they attempted to 
tear up the planks of the intervening bridge ; but a 
few more shots taught them to be more accommodat- 
ing to travellers. The planks partially removed were 
soon replaced ; but the enemy had gained so much 
the start, and ran so fast, our men could not catch 
them. 

In one of the contiguous houses a trick was dis- 
covered, which, considering it was done by a chival- 
rous Virginian, is almost equal to anything of the 
kind achieved by a despised ' Yankee.' As our troops 
entered they were accosted by the lady occupant : 

" What do yer want here ?" 

" We are looking for Secesh, madam." 

11 Well ! there ain't none in this house ! An' you'n 
better clear out, mighty quick!" 

" It is our orders to search every house, madam ; 
and we cannot leave until we have searched yours." 

" Sarch my house, yer mean Yankees ! I should 
like to see yer do it !" 

" You will have that pleasure, then, madam ; for 
we shall certainly look through your premises, from 
garret to cellar." 



IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 127 

" Yer will ? Well, if yer will, yer must. But'n yer 
won't find nobody 'yere but a pewer old sick un." 

" Is it a sick man, madam ?" 

" No ! yer 'quisitive critters I It's my husband's 
aunt Betty. Been sick for goin' on ten yeres." 

" Where is she ?" 

" Up charmber, there I" 

Without more ceremony our troops passed into the 
attic, and there, between the sheets, half-hidden by a 
bed-rid crone, they found a gray uniform lying at 
bis length, with his boots on ! He had not even 
taken the trouble to brush them, nor in any way to 
arrange his dress as he sought his couch, being 
covered from head to foot with spatterings of mud 
and water. The ' sleeping beauty,' as our men called 
him, was tenderly rolled out on the floor, and made 
a prize of war. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Hancock at Yorktown — One of the Decisive Issues of the War — 
"Wave, Richmond, all thy Banners Wave!" but still they Waved 
in Vain — Hancock Breveted Major in the United States Regular 
Army. 

ON the 15th of April, 1862, the national troops 
advanced from Old Point Comfort, Virginia, 
where they had landed from Washington, toward 
Yorktown. This memorable spot, it will be recol- 
lected, is the site of the surrender of Lord Coknwal- 
lis to General Washington, near the close of the 
Kevolutionary war. It is one of the oldest towns in 
the country, the capital of York county, and situated 
on the right bank of the York river, about seventy 
miles south of Eichmond. English settlers first 
reached there in the year 1705. It was once quite a 
flourishing place; but the deleterious influences at 
work have been its bane for more than a century. 
It now numbers only forty houses within its precincts. 
The position is commanding, especially with refer- 

(128) 



AT TORKTOWN. 129 

ence to the passage of vessels, and the enemy had 
resolved to make the most of it. They threw up 
strong entrenchments, mounted some of the largest 
guns they could command, especially those stolen 
from the United States Navy Yard at the contiguous 
port of Norfolk, and garrisoned it with about ten 
thousand picked troops, under Magruder, one of their 
most energetic and undaunted commanders. This 
skilful soldier had served for many years in the Union 
army, had received his education at the national mili- 
tary school, at the expense of the American people, 
and, with all his crude vagaries, was considered one 
of our best artillery officers. He was one of those 
very peculiar men who keep up a seeming of war 
by means of bluster ; who love to fire guns for the 
mere purpose of making a noise ; and who hold a 
continuance of peace by a show of power which they 
do not possess. 

It was emphatically so at Yorktown. But the 
Union army, not being aware how comparatively 
inferior the defences and small the garrison of York- 
town really wei3, passed on to its conquest with 
almost its entire strength. 

The advance was begun on the 4th of April, with 
General Morrill's brigade, of General Porter's divi- 
sion, in the night; two companies of the Third Penn- 

I 



130 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

sylvania cavalry and a portion of Berdan's Sharp- 
shooters, who had just rendered such effective service 
at Big Bethel, deployed as skirmishers. The advance 
rested at a spot within six miles of Yorktown, and 
at ten o'clock on the morning of the 5th they were 
in front of the ramparts of the enemy. 

Magruder, according to his invariable custom of 
bluster, soon opened fire, regardless of consequences. 
He was promptly replied to by the batteries of Cap- 
tain Griffin, the Third and Fourth Ehode Island and 
Fifth Massachusetts, who sent back two shots for every 
one from the enemy. The cannonading continued 
briskly until sunset. 

The fight was resumed the ensuing day, the brig- 
ade of General Hancock being early in the field, and 
taking an active part. The artillery firing was con- 
stant on both sides. Every attempt of the enemy to 
make sorties and charges resulted disastrously. They 
were always glad to retreat behind their entrench- 
ments. The great body of our men had never been 
under fire, but those in view of the vigilant eye of 
Hancock were kept bravely up to the work, his expe- 
rience in artillery practice being of great service. 
As the sun of the afternoon, deflecting from the water, 
glanced on our bright pieces, they afforded a good 
mark for the enemy, who made the most of their 



AT YORKTOWN. 131 

position behind their high ramparts. New troops 
coming on the ground, relieved the exposed and 
wearied gunners. The Sixth Ehode Island battery 
and Fifth Massachusetts, arriving in the height of 
this part of the engagement, rendered most important 
service. It was quite near sundown when the last 
gun was fired. Our men always took care to have 
the closing shot. 

On a subseqent day General Hancock led in person 
a portion of his brigade into the open field in front 
of the enemy. It was one of the most exposed posi- 
tions yet occupied by our army. His object was to 
drive a body of pickets from a piece of woods they 
occupied, in close proximity to the national works. 
The troops advanced through the open area, in the 
face of a deadly fire, drawing themselves directly to- 
ward the enemy, on their hands and knees. They 
were now within close musket-range. 

The gray coats were cunningly secreted behind 
trees and stumps, and anxious to induce our men to 
rise to their feet in order that they might have a bet- 
ter chance to shoot them down, while they themselves 
were under cover. To accomplish this object one of 
their wily Captains shouted the word "Charge!" — in 
the vain hope that the Union boys would spring to 
their feet at the sound, and run. But he and his daring 



132 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

allies were very much mistaken. We did nothing 
of the sort; but, on the contrary, kept our recum- 
bent position unchanged, every man with his gun 
loaded and cocked, his bayonet fixed, and steadily 
advancing on the foe. 

Again came the plucky Captain's command : 

" Charge bayonet ! " 

This time his command rose to their feet, as if to 
rush forward upon us. But before they had moved 
an inch, a command came from Hancock's side : 

"Fire!" 

The well-aimed rifles blazed in an instant in the 
very faces of the enemy. They fell back in dismay, 
leaving their dead and wounded behind them on the 
field. 

During the skirmish a new hidden battery, which 
had been erected only the previous Sunday night, 
opened on our men, with the intention of driving off 
the advance. But the guns of Hancock soon silenced 
and dismantled it. 

This was a sudden and severe lesson to the enemy. 
They had foolishly supposed, it seems, that the na- 
tional troops were all, or nearly all, especially the vol- 
unteers, terribly afraid of the idea of being charged 
upon by cold steel. They even went so far in their 
folly as to suppose that if they should only cry 



AT YORKTOWN. 133 

to their men, in the face of our advancing columns, 
the word " Charge !" we should instantly take to our 
heels and scamper from the field. 

This experience with the brave men under Han- 
cock taught them a different and very salutary lesson. 

It is evident from the history of the comments 
made upon it by the Southern press, that the position 
at Yorktown was held to be of the greatest import- 
ance to the continued success of the rebellion. One 
of the editors, speaking by authority, on the 15th of 
April, says: 

" The issue at Yorktown is tremendous. When 
the battle does come off it will be a fearful one, for 
the stake is enormous. Confederate leaders and sol- 
diers feel that the issue involves the fate of the coun- 
try. The contest cannot long be deferred. The news 
of a terrible battle may startle us at any moment. 

"Wave, Richmond! all thy banners wave, 
And charge with all thy chivalry ! 

" Not only the fate of the temporary seat of govern- 
ment, but of Eastern Virginia, and even more than 
that trembles in the balance. 

" We presume that President Davis himself will 
be on the field, as he has intimated." 

Immediately after the appearance of this fiery out- 
burst of chivalric eloquence, the enemy began the 
12 



134 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

construction of large forti/ications on the Gloucester 
side of Yorktown. The works were in sight of the 
Union gunboats. About one thousand men were at 
work on the fortifications; but the arrival of the 
gunboat Sebago, with a hundred-pound rifled Parrott 
gun, soon dispersed the enemy. She threw her shot, 
at the distance of three miles, which were so well 
aimed that they could be seen falling in the midst of 
the foemen and exploding with fatal effect. The killed 
and wounded were carried off by the enemy in con- 
siderable numbers, and the remaining combatants 
were glad to hide themselves under the cover of the 
adjacent woods. At every attempt to renew their 
work they were driven back ; and finally compelled 
to abandon it. 

Our assaults on the Yorktown works now con- 
tinued for several days in succession. The weather 
was favorable for operations, and our army made the 
most of it. Occasional attempts at sorties were made 
by the enemy — on one evening with a force of three 
thousand men — but they were invariably repulsed 
with severe loss to our opponents. 

By two o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, April 
17th, a section of Union artillery was planted within 
half a mile of the Secesh works, near the river, and 



AT YORKTOWN. 135 

well supported by infantry. Their outworks were 
assailed from this point with good effect. 

On the morning following, the enemy advanced 
with a force of one thousand men, and commenced 
to strengthen one of their batteries located about 
three miles to the left of Yorktown. A battery was 
very soon brought to bear on them, when they were 
not only reduced to terms of quiet, but compelled to 
beat a very hasty retreat. A brisk fire was kept up 
by our guns for four hours ; during which all their 
cannon were dismounted without the ceremony of 
being unlimbered. 

The Union gunboats advanced nearer to the seat 
of the action as it progressed. On the 24th of April 
one moved up Wormley's creek, early in the morn- 
ing, and threw her shells with force at the earth- 
works. At a distance of four miles, the shells ex- 
ploded in the midst of the enemy. 

A dashing movement was made on an advanced 
lunette of the enemy, early in the morning of April 
28th, by company H, of the First Massachusetts 
regiment. The works were carried, and the enemy, 
consisting of two companies of infantry, driven back. 
'^Our men moved over open, soft ground, some six 
* hundred yards, receiving the fire of the South at a dis- 
tance of fifty yards ; they did not return it, but rushed 



136 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOJST. 

over the ditch and parapet in the most gallant man- 
ner. The enemy were not prepared for so chivalrous 
an act from the scorned Northrons. They broke and 
ran in all directions the moment they saw the heads 
of our men coming up the glacis and over the sum- 
mit. We took a number of prisoners, and effectually 
destroyed the works. 

On the 2d of May the Union siege batteries opened 
on the whole length of the enemy's line. The effect 
was very severe. Our own works had been con- 
structed with great care, and the guns placed in posi- 
tion were of the heaviest calibre suitable for such a 
siege. The firing was kept up on both sides, for a 
time, with great animation, although the loss of life 
was comparatively small. 

Our environment of the works had been complete. 
The Union parallels and batteries had gone up day 
by day, night by night, within point-blank range 
of the enemy. His fire had been unceasing, and, at 
times, vexatious. But it was not long ere we had 
more than one hundred siege guns and mortars in 
favorable positions for the reduction of the walls. 

The sending of a war-balloon from our side on the 
afternoon of the 3d of May, and the display of large 
signal lanterns in the evening, gave the enemy cer- 
tain ranges for their guns, which opportunities they 



AT YORKTOWN. 137 

promptly improved. But at the hour of midnight 
the shelling from the fort slackened, and bright lights 
in the vicinity of the water batteries of the enemy 
attracted our attention. Near daylight followed a 
series of minute guns from inside the works. As 
the morning advanced, and they grey mist lifted from 
the waters of the river and the adjacent lowlands, 
floating away like gossamer in the breeze from Hamp- 
ton Eoads, it was discovered that the strategic oppo- 
nents had deserted their entrenched post, and left us 
the works so carefully and solidly created. York- 
town was evacuated ! 

At six o'clock on the morning of the 4th of May, 
detachments of Union troops from Massachusetts, 
New York and Pennsylvania marched over the ram- 
parts and occupied the deserted fort. In a moment 
more the national ensign, full and free, floated from 
the abandoned flagstaff, and the victorious troops 
greeted it with hearty cheers. 

The victory was complete and a great one. The 
gray coats had held Yorktown with over ten thou- 
sand of their picked men. They had kept at work 
for months three thousand slaves, building fortifica- 
tions and locating guns. The works were of the 
strongest kind then constructed in the country. They 
formed an immense connected fortification, with its 
12* 



138 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

numerous salient angles. The ditches were deep, the 
parapets lofty, and difficult to scale. The water bat- 
tery below commanded the river on the Yorktown 
side, while that at Gloucester Point, on the opposite 
shore, was equally effective. The guns were the best 
that could then be obtained — a portion of them in 
most commanding positions being Dahlgrens, Colum- 
biads and sea-coast pieces of good range. An im- 
mense area in front of the works, over which the 
Union troops would have been compelled to march, 
in case an assault had been attempted, was swept 
completely by opposing fires. Deep gorges, ravines 
and swamps were all around and iDside the fortifica- 
tions, presenting the most formidable natural obsta- 
cles to our advancing columns. 

The occupation of Yorktown gave us possession, 
with the fort, of eighty guns in all, and a large amount 
of material of war. There were four magazines in a 
good state of preservation. 

On arriving inside the fort, the enemy's tents 
were found standing in all directions. Some of 
these were daubed on their sides with clever cari- 
catures of the Union troops; but, luckily for the 
artists, it was not quite convenient for them to 
stay and defend their characteristic specimens of 
humorous art. For urgent private reasons they 



AT YORKTOWN. 139 

preferred to leave their galleries to be admired 
by the eyes of their invading foes, acting on the 
impulse of the old distich : 

"He who fights, and runs away, 
May live to fight — another day." 

It was rumored that Mr. Davis, the President of the 
insurgent Southern Confederacy, and the noted Gen- 
erals Lee and Beauregard, were present in York- 
town, while the closing part of the siege was in pro- 
gress; and that, after much altercation, they ordered 
the evacuation. On the memorable night of that dis- 
tracted council, while the Union guns were thunder- 
ing at the gate for admission, the already defeated 
foe, with daring ingenuity, secretly buried percus- 
sion torpedoes in all the passages and approaches. 
It was not chivalry, but war. A single explosion 
sufficed to warn us of danger, and to thwart com- 
pletely the artful plan. 

But the works were ours. Another gateway to 
Eichmond, the Mecca of our hopes, was entered 
and possessed ; and it remains in the hands of the 
Union to this day. There, with all its sacred Eevo- 
lutionary records, may it remain forever ! 

General Hancock was breveted Major in the United 
States Eegular Army for his meritorious conduct at 
Yorktown, his brevet dating from the 4th of May, 1862. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Brilliant Victory at Williamsburg — "Gentlemen, Charge!"— 
The Field on which Hancock Earned the Title of " Supebb " — 
The Enemy Routed out of their Entrenchments. 

THE battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, was fought 
on the 4th of May, 1862. The Union advance, 
leaving Yorktown in the possession of a sufficient 
garrison, reached the rear of the enemy, under one 
of their best leaders, General J. E. Johnson, on the 
morning of that day. The battle commenced imme- 
diately, and was continued, at intervals, until after 
sundown. 

The march from Yorktown to Williamsburg had 
been made with much caution. It was a surprise to 
the enemy. He had no idea we would leave our en- 
trenched works at the former place so soon after 
possessing them. White flags skirted the road as 
our troops passed on. The male occupants of the 
houses had nearly all fled, leaving behind their 
women, children, and servants. 

In the vicinity of Williamsburg the enemy had 

(140) 



AT WILLIAMSBURG. 141 

thrown up strong entrenchments. Their force had 
been materially increased by additions from Rich- 
mond and other camps. It was evident they were 
bent on making a determined stand. 

The morning of our approach was dark and dreary. 
The rain fell in torrents. Hooker, Smith, Kearney 
and Heintzleman were among the first to enter the 
action. It raged during the day, and by four o'clock 
in the afternoon was at its height. Many of the offi- 
cers and men were under fire for the first time, in the 
open field of battle. Several of the youngest of the 
former were subject to the most trying ordeals of 
their courage and presence of mind, as they rode, in 
the position of Aids, # among the descending showers 
of shot and shell. 

General Keyes came up with a divison of reinforce- 
ments at a critical juncture, aided by that venerable 
officer, General Cas^ey. Couch, followed by a consid- 
erable body of cavalry and artillery, joined in the 
fight at this point, on the left, while Hancock was 
pressing the enemy on the right. Our troops fought 
with heroic valor. The vacancies rapidly made in 
the lines were as rapidly filled ; and the surging col- 
umns pressed steadily on, meeting the enemy face to 
face, shot for shot, man for man. 

General Hancock had called for reinforcements, and 



142 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the troops nobly responled. Just as the sun was 
going down, while the torrents of rain were yet fall- 
ing, Hancock made that brilliant charge that must 
forever associate his name with peculiar honor in 
the battle of Williamsburg. The enemy had massed 
a strong force on his front, and had made several 
fearful chasms in his nearest ranks. Hiding to the 
centre, and quickly passing the words, "Fix bayo- 
nets!" he paused at the chosen point, and waving his 
hat, gave the memorable order to his officers : 

" Gentlemen ! Charge !" 

The brilliancy and effect with which that courteous 
order was obeyed at that instant will never be for- 
gotten. The Confeds were swept before it, like chaff 
before a whirlwind. Officers, men, horses, artillery, 
were borne back in confusion and dismay, rendering 
the rout of the foe one of the most signal ever wit- 
nessed on any field of any war. All the works on 
the right of the Union line were captured at a blow. 
The enemy were flanked on their left, and rolled up 
over the earth like a parchment scroll. The move- 
ment was masterly. The success was complete. As 
the news of it ran along the lines, and reached the 
headquarters of the army, cheer followed cheer on 
all sides, and the enthusiasm of the troops kindled 
before it as a harbinger of victory. The most hearty 



AT WILLIAMSBURG. 143 

congratulations surrounded Hancock from all his 
associates, and his character for brilliancy and dash 
as a soldier took a nobler hue than ever from that 
moment. 

Keinforcements now continued to press forward. 
As night closed in we had full possession of all the 
fortifications on our front. Hancock passed the night 
before them, on the field. The brave troops around 
him rested on their victorious arms. Neither their 
General nor they heeded that they were wet with the 
drenching rain, spattered with mud, weary and hun- 
gry. Through the descending rain of that stormy 
night, their watchfires were kindled only to show 
them the conquered enemy beyond. They demanded 
to be led again by Hancock in another charge. The 
veterans among them thought of their bivouacs with 
him in Mexico, when he was a young Lieutenant ; 
and they longed to follow him now as a General to 
new fields of glory. The darkness could not hide 
from their vision the dear old flag ; the chilly night- 
air could not dampen their ardor in its defence ; the 
presence of the enemy in force, just in front, could 
not check their purpose to stand or fall for the Union 
which those tremendous hosts had aimed to destroy. 

Noble army of martyrs for American Liberty ! It 
required all the coolness and discipline, all the vigor 



144 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

and persuasion of Hancock, to keep them that night 
within his lines. Had he but given the word, they 
would have rushed forward with him, again and 
again, in fiery onsets on their country's foes. 

The following morning came with a bright and 
bracing air. Our troops were better prepared than 
ever for the renewal of the fight. But the word 
soon came from Hancock, still in the advance on the 
right, that the enemy had fled. They had availed 
themselves of the darkness and storm of the night to 
steal away, leaving their deserted fortifications for our 
advancing forces to enter. 

This opening field fight of that campaign afforded 
many striking illustrations of the republican nature 
of the struggle on the Union side. Among our offi- 
cers were several gentlemen of foreign birth, and 
some native born of great wealth and high position 
in American society. Of these, as the morning broke 
after the battle, Count de Paris could be seen plough- 
ing his way knee-deep through the Virginia mud, 
with his bag of corn on his shoulder, which he had 
just filled at a neighboring crib, and with which he 
was to feed his horse. Mr. Astor, of New York, on 
the staff of the Commanding General, might be dis- 
covered washing the mud from his steed, and attend- 
ing to grooming and culinary matters generally, on 



AT WILLIAMSBURG. 145 

his own account. In the hospitals and on the field, 
officers and men were helping each other indiscrimi- 
nately; together bearing the burdens as together 
they shared the honors of war. 

The works captured from the enemy by the brave 
exploit of Hancock were found to be of a formidable 
character. The gallant charge he made was not a 
mere bloody display of valor. Its results were 
tangible, and valuable to the cause. The enemy had 
come upon him with a furious onset. They evidently 
calculated that he would fall an easy prey to their 
yelling assault. A man with less invincible courage, 
with less firmness of resolution than he, would have 
fallen back, and waited for still more reinforcements. 
But the moment the additional troops he sent for 
rallied around him, that moment he advanced — giv- 
ing assault for assault, and closing the day with his 
steady charge of the deadly bayonet. Not until 
the enemy was close upon him, not until he could 
see their eyes peering into those of his own men, not 
until they had swept far across the open field that 
intervened between the opposing lines, did he give 
the memorable order that has so honorably associated 
his name with the victory of that day. 

It is admitted on all hands that the bearing of the 
foe was most gallant. His ranks were composed of 
13 K 



146 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina troops, who 
literally strewed the ground with their dead ere they 
yielded to the impetuous valor of Hancock. Acres 
of felled and tangled trees, long lines of strongly- 
built entrenchments, showed the fixed purpose of 
the enemy to hold their ground to the last. Their 
ammunition was abundant and their fire most gall- 
ing. But for the unexpected dash made on them by 
Hancock, where, at the point of the bayonet, their 
works were wrested from them, they would have re- 
mained for a long time in a strong position of defence. 

Immediately opposed to Hancock, leading the 
picked body of the enemy, was the active commander 
Longstreet, who had been a lieutenant with him in 
some of the severest fights in Mexico. In his front, 
almost face to face, was Early, who had been, also, a 
fellow officer with him on those distant fields. What 
a place for such a meeting ! 

The brilliant success of Hancock was gained with 
a loss of not more than twenty killed and wounded. 
His engagement decided the fortunes of the day. 
The falling back of the enemy gave the Union a 
thousand wounded and three hundred uninjured 
Confed prisoners. Thus far seventy-one large guns 
were captured, many tents, and a great amount of 
ammunition. 



AT WILLIAMSBURG. 147 

With savage desperation the dismayed, demoral- 
ized, and hastily retreating foes signalized their de- 
feat by placing torpedoes within their abandoned 
works, near their flagstaffs, magazines, and telegraph 
offices ; and secreting them in carpet-bags, barrels 
of flour, provisions, boxes, and other available spots 
liable to be reached by our troops. Most fortunately, 
the horrible device was detected. 

It is not pretended that the battle of Williamsburg 
partook of the nature of a great general engage- 
ment. It was more like a brilliant and successful 
skirmish of an army on the advance. The Secesh 
speak of it in their reports as ' a handsome affair. 7 
In the official despatches of Generals Hooker, Smith, 
Couch, Kearney, Birney and Heintzleman — all of 
whom, with Generals Peck, Jameson, Devens, Casey, 
Graham, Berry, Stoneman, and others, won fresh lau- 
rels on that day — it is placed in its true light, as a 
preliminary fight of much importance, whose effect 
was as beneficial on the spirits of our own men as it 
was desponding to those of the enemy. 

To the gallant and lamented General Philip 
Keakney is especial honor due for his great aid in 
the restoration of the fortunes of the day, on the 
hard-fought field of Williamsburg. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Hancock's Correspondence with his Family — The Modest Soldier — 
The Faithful Son — The Affectionate Brother — The Civilian in 
the Midst of Strife. 

THE advance of the Union army up the Yirginia 
Peninsula, continued General Hancock at the 
front. He participated, with his accustomed gal- 
lantry, in the battles of Garnett's Hill, Savage Sta- 
tion, White Oak Swamp, and several skirmishes of 
an important character. 

"While thus occupied in the field of battle for his 
country, the General seized a moment to write a hur- 
ried letter home. It shows the heart of the true 
man, in the camp of the gallant soldier : 

"U. S. Camp, near Richmond, 23d of May, 1862. 
" My Dear Mother : 

I wrote to father a few days ago. It has been some time since I 
heard from him or you. I presume some of your letters have missed 
tue, in consequence of the changes of the field. 

(148) 



HIS LETTERS HOME. 149 

I am well ; and so, also, is brother John. We are not in Rich- 
mond yet, but trust we shall be there, all in good time. 

I hope that God, in his good mercy, will permit both your sons 
to reach that city, in safety and in honor. 

I have not much time to write. Give my best love to father. 
And believe me 

Your devoted son, 

Winfield S. Hancock." 
•' Mrs. Elizabeth Hancock, 

Norristown, Pa." 

This confiding tribute to his mother is of the same 
class with all his letters home. While at one of his 
Western posts, early in the service, at the age of 
twenty-three years, he writes to his twin brother : 

"Newport Barracks, Ky., May 5, 1847. 
" My Dear Hilary : 

I was exceedingly glad to find, on my arrival here from Fort Scott, 
two long and interesting letters from you. The only thing that 
grieves me is that I cannot get to Mexico. I made an application 
to-day to join the army going to the front. Whether the Adjutant 
General will favor it or not I do not know ; but think it doubtful. 

I am actively engaged as Superintendent of the recruiting service 
for the Western Division, and acting as Assistant Inspector General ; 
but, though my services are said to be useful, I still want to go to 
Mexico. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Winfield." 

How different might have been his career, had his 
13* 



150 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

going to Mexico continued to be 'doubtful' I But all 
his doubts on that subject were soon after removed. 
In a few weeks he was ordered to the front. From 
there he writes to his father : 

"Tacubaya, Mexico, August 26, 1847. 
"My Dear Father: 

I feel thankful that I am able to write to you from this place. We 
have had to fight desperately to get here. It has been the theatre 
of a sanguinary battle. I left off my last letter to engage in prepa- 
rations for it." 

In the following October he writes from Mexico : 

" I am exceedingly anxious to see you all. I send you some of 
the plans of our engagements." 

"Writing to his brother Hilary, under date of City 
of Mexico, December 6, 1847, he says : 

" My Dear Hilary : 

I am again made happy by the arrival of three letters from home. 

You ask me whether I have been in battle ? I answer, proudly, 
yes! Beside being in several skirmishes, on the road ft\m Puebla 
to Vera Cruz, — in all of which I can truly say I have endeavored to 
do my duty, — it was my part to participate in the battles of San 
Antonio, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and the conquest of the City 
of Mexico. I only missed the fight of Chepultepec by being sick 
in my tent, and off duty, at the time. I shall always be sorry that 
I was absent. I was lying ill with chills and fever, directly under 



EIS LETTERS HOME. 151 

the fort, at the time the action began. I could not remain still 
under the firing; but, wrapping my blanket about me, I crept to the 
top of the roof of the nearest house, watched the fight, and had 
strength enough to cheer with the boys when the Castle fell. The 
balls whizzed around me, but I kept my post, doing what I could ; 
and when I learned that the colors I saw hoisted on the conquered 
walls were those of my own regiment, my heart beat quick at the 
glorious sight. 

The winter has set in here, and some chilly days are the conse- 
quence. The summits of lofty Popocatapetl are capped with more 
snow than is usual at this season. No snows, however, are on the 
plains. Here the roads are open and many of them beautiful. The 
Almada, or great Square of the Capital, is far superior to anything 
of the kind in the United States. The carriage road on the outskirts 
is splendid, and, at times, crowded with gay equipages. It is, also, 
a fashionable resort for walks. Its age is three centuries. 

Give my love to father, mother, brother John, and all my other 
friends. Winfield." 

He again writes his family from near Toluca, Jan- 
nary 5th, 1848: 

"We have another snow mountain overlooking us — the Neviado. 
When the wind blows from that direction it is bitterly cold. But 
January is the end of the Mexican winter. The days begin to grow 
warmer as the month advances, although the nights continue chilly. 
There are no fire-places, and consequently no fires ; as we more 
Northern-born find, to our great discomfort. 

The Valley of Toluca is most beautiful, and very fertile. Like 
all the other Mexican valleys I have seen, it is perfectly level, as 
if it had once been the bottom of a large lake. Some of these won- 
derful areas look like the craters of extinct volcanoes. In the Valley 



152 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

of Mexico one of the remaining lakes is twenty miles long and 
fifteen broad. 

The variety of fruits produced here is astonishing. On one of the 
market days, recently, over fifty different kinds were on sale. Think 
of opening a fine, fresh, ripe watermelon, in the month of January! 

Love to all. Winfield." 

All his letters to his friends are written in this free 
and affectionate style. They contain, beside his de- 
scriptions of places and landscapes, his expressions 
of personal interest, full and correct accounts of his 
battles, and graphic drawings of the fields. It would 
be pleasing to give longer extracts, did the extent 
of our volume admit of it. These will suffice to 
show the character of the writer, inasmuch as he 
wrote without the remotest expectation that his let- 
ters would ever appear in print. 

In what a pleasing light do these unstudied epis- 
tles present the subject of this memoir I His love 
of home, of kindred, of country, of the cause in which 
he has enlisted, his quiet devotion to duty in the 
midst of battle and danger, show the man as he is, 
and reflect new lustre on the niche of fame where his 
valor has placed him. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Terrible Struggles of Garnett's Hill, Savage's Station, and White 
Oak Swamp — Hancock as Major-General of Volunteers — The 
Return from the Peninsula. 

DURING the operations of the Union army im- 
mediately before Richmond, in the spring of 
1862, General Hancock had taken his nsual active 
part. His brigade had continued in the division of 
General Smith, now a part of a new provisional army 
corps, in command of General W. B. Franklin. He 
was posted on the right of the main body, aiding in 
conducting the siege. His duties were peculiarly 
arduous in those pestilential swamps of the Chicka- 
hominy. He shared in all the dangers and fatigues 
of the principal attacks, and rendered important aid 
by his regular army experience in conducting the 
safe withdrxwal of the men under his command. 
At the fierce battle of Gaines' Mills, Hancock was 

(153) 



154 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

in charge of an independent body of troops, tempo- 
rarily attached to his brigade. His position was in 
the extreme advance, his picket line extending across 
an intersecting ravine. At this point he met and 
overcame a terrific fire of the enemy, massed in five 
regiments; keeping them at bay, and thereby pre- 
venting them from pushing on to another part of the 
field they were anxious to reach. 

Late in the afternoon of the 27th of June, the 
enemy, being reinforced, commenced to attack the 
lines of Hancock more furiously than ever, from the 
south side of the stream. It was evidently their 
purpose to force him back, and thus separate him 
from the main portion of the army. The attack was 
opened with a heavy artillery fire of grape, shell, 
round shot and shrapnel. It was the most furious 
onset made by the enemy in that portion of the field. 
The cry ran along the lines of the Confederates : 

" No quarter to the Yankees ! Into the river with 
them ! Shoot them down in the water !" 

This fiery assault was led by General Toombs, of 
Georgia, formerly for several years a member of Con- 
gress, and for some time a Senator of the United 
States. The enemy came forward with a yell and a 
dash, calculating to drive everything before them. 
There were five regiments of infantry, yelling and 



RETURNING FROM THE PENINSULA. 155 

surging to and fro, with desperate valor. The 
fight became, in places, one of hand-to-hand ; and 
there was no spot where the opposing forces were 
more than ten paces apart. The attack was as short 
as it was fierce ; but it ended in the complete repulse 
of the enemy. They were driven back, with all their 
yells and clatters, leaving nearly three hundred killed 
and wounded on the field. 

This brief but sanguinary fight is known as that 
of Garnett's Hill. 

On the following morning the enemy renewed the 
attack, with all the fury of armed men balked of 
their prey. But they were again signally repulsed, 
with loss ; leaving a Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and 
other officers and men of the Seventh and Eighth 
Georgia regiments, prisoners in our hands 

General Hancock continued to hold the enemy in 
check at this important point until three o'clock of 
the morning of the 28th of June, when he rejoined 
the remainder of the division of General Smith, and 
participated actively in the obstinate battles of Sav- 
age's Station, on the 29th, and of White Oak Swamp, 
on the 30th of the same month. 

For his services at Garnett's Hill he was again 
recommended for appointment as Major General of 
Volunteers, by the commander of the army. He was 



156 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

recommended, subsequently, for three brevets in the 
Eegular Army, for meritorious conduct during the 
Peninsular campaign. 

On his return from the Peninsula, General Han- 
cock prepared at once to take part in the defence of 
Washington, made by General Pope against the ad- 
vance of the Southern foe, under Lee. But before he 
could reach the field of action, the Union army had 
withdrawn to a better position for the immediate 
protection of the city. 

The particulars of the career of Hancock in front 
of Eichmond, in the campaign of '62, are thus care- 
fully narrated here, in order that it may be seen with 
what pertinacity, skill and courage he continued to 
act his part. 

We must now go with him to the battle of An- 
tietam ; where the unusual honor was conferred upon 
him of being made a division commander, during 
the engagement. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hancock a Colonel in the Regular Army — The Sanguinary Onset 
at Antietam — Tlie Enemy driven back to Virginia — An Episode 
of Grim Humor — A Union Colonel in his First Fight. 

ON the 27th of June, 1862, the brevet of Colonel 
in the Kegular Army was bestowed on Hancock, 
for distinguished conduct in the Peninsular campaign. 
His next service was in command of his brigade at 
the battle of Antietam, in Maryland, which was 
fought on the 17th of September, of the same year. 

This battle was one of the most baffling in its im- 
mediate character of any of the war ; and yet its 
results have been eminently beneficial to the Union 
cause. 

The transfer of the seat of operations from the 
front of Washington to the Maryland line had much 
enlarged the sphere of the Army of the Potomac. 
It became necessary not only to cover the National 
Capital with an adequate force, but Baltimore, Phila- 

14 (157) 



158 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

delphia, and important interior towns, even as far 
west as Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, required protection. 
The enemy were on the alert in all directions, de- 
manding the most vigilant efforts of our patriotic 
troops to meet and overcome them. 

The first prizes to be fought for by the enemy and 
to be defended by the patriots were Washington, 
Baltimore, the Cumberland Valley, Harper's Ferry 
and Philadelphia. 

On the 16th of September the enemy were posted 
on the heights in the rear of Antietam creek. This 
stream rises in the southern part of Pennsylvania, 
and pursuing a southerly course through a portion 
of Maryland, empties into the Potomac. The coun- 
try contiguous is broken, and beyond are the passes 
of the South Mountain range. The principal roads 
in the vicinity lead to and from Sharpsburg, Hagers- 
town, Harper's Ferry and Baltimore. The body of 
Southrons occupied strong positions among the hills, 
commanding the valleys and plains below, for a con- 
siderable distance. Their artillery was well posted 
on all the principal heights. 

It was the design of the Union commander to 
attack the enemy on their left. The Pennsylvania 
troops were among the first to advance. The posi' 
tion of affairs, as our men swept into the areas before 



AT ANTIETAM. 159 

the Secesh guns, was intensely trying ; but their valor 
sustained them well to the close of the hard -fought 
engagement. Our loss in killed and wounded, espe- 
cially in officers, was large, several generals being 
carried from the scene of action. 

In the valley of Antietam, where some of the hot- 
test engagements of the battle were fought, we were 
crowded into a narrow space, and subject to a galling 
fire from the protected batteries of the enemy. It 
was found to be almost impossible to enfilade them, 
in consequence of the abruptness of the hills. These 
steep slopes were lined with rifle-pits and breast- 
works, from which the rifles and guns swept large 
portions of the whole of that part of the field. 

As our troops continued to advance, determined to 
drive the enemy from their strongholds, the slaughter 
was fearful. But they pressed on to every point 
where there was any possibility of meeting the foe 
on equal grounds. They were now also strongly 
reinforced, battery being added to battery, as if they 
were determined, in return, to make a wholesale 
butchery of the brave men so exposed before 
their fire. 

The battle over the entire field was much of it of 
this description. It was one of the most unequal 
fights on record. Our artillery was promptly filed 



160 WINFIELD, THE LA WYEES SON. 

into action, and handled with great courage and skill ; 
but it lost immensely in every assault by the vast 
superiority of position held by the opposing gunners. 
Our batteries could not be brought into good point- 
blank range without the greatest difficulty; and, 
when they were, the Confed. embankments afforded 
them such protection that the most telling shots pro- 
duced but little effect. 

The first day closed on a conflict in which nearly 
two hundred thousand men had been hotly engaged 
for fourteen hours. 

Harper's Ferry was disgracefully surrendered in 
the midst of the battle ; thus cutting off a large sup- 
ply of troops and munitions, at the same time fur- 
nishing a strong strategic point to the enemy, and 
materially interfering with the successful prosecution 
of the plans of the Union generals. But, with all 
these disadvantages on our side, the enemy were 
driven out of their entrenched mountain passes, com- 
pelled to fight and submit to defeat in the more open 
country, and to withdraw, subdued, thwarted, hum- * 
bled, from Maryland to Virginia. 

The part taken by Hancock in the battle of Antie- 
tam was characteristic of the man. He was prompt, 
vigilant, courageous in every portion of the engage- 
ments in which he participated. His own native 



AT ANTIETAM. 161 

hills of Pennsylvania were just beyond the field. 
The capital of the nation was liable to be assailed by 
an unscrupulous enemy. The large cities of Baltimore 
and Philadelphia were to be defended. The honor 
of the Army of the Potomac was to be maintained. 
These grave contingencies found him fully prepared. 

On the night of the 17th of September, in the 
presence of a large and embattled force of the enemy, 
he slept on the field, with the brave troops who 
had won the day. By the morning of the 19th 
General Lee had withdrawn beyond the reach of pur- 
suit, with an acknowledged loss of about fourteen 
thousand men, in killed and wounded. 

During the height of the battle an incident occur- 
red in his immediate command, which strikingly 
illustrates the character of Hancock. It took place 
on the night of September 16th. One of the new 
regiments, now for the first time in action, was in 
position on the brow of a commanding hill. The 
shots of the enemy raked it in such a way that the 
men were lying close to the ground, their rifles in 
hand, well loaded. They had done what they could 
on their line, and were now waiting additional orders. 
The commander of the regiment and all his officers 
were prostrate on the earth, with the men, among 
whom the balls occasionally ploughed deep fur- 
14* L 



162 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

rows, scattering the soil and stones in all directions. 
The moon was riding high in the heavens ; but the 
smoke of battle, which had not at that point ceased 
with the coming on of night, dimmed its shining 
rajs. It was sufficiently clear, however, to distin- 
guish persons and places with considerable readiness. 

At this moment Hancock rode up to the prostrate 
regiment. Looking around for the Colonel, who 
could not be distinguished at once in the dim light 
of the moon, and through the smoke of battle, he 
enquired : 

"Who commands this regiment?" 

" I do, sir I" replied the new Colonel, bobbing up 
his head from its hole in the ground, and then, as an 
unfriendly shot whizzed by his ear, bobbing it back 
again. 

Now, the Colonel was a truly brave man, with all 
the shrewdness of a Yankee. Having been bred to 
the law, and never under fire before, it took him some 
time to ' master the situation,' and to be able to ' de- 
fine his position.' At that interesting period of his 
military novitiate, as one of his 'high privates' 
quaintly remarked, 'things looked kinder skeery.' 

In his lowly posture, the Colonel had forgotten to 
rise and tender his superior the customary salute. 

General Hancock, still mounted, and his staff around 



AT ANTIETAM. 163 

him, at once saw the state of 'the case,' although he 
did not then understand all its legal attitudes and 
bearings. With his usual courtesy, he again en- 
quired : 

" How many men have you on duty, Colonel ?" 

"About eight hundred, I guess!" the Colonel re- 
plied, bobbing up his head, turning his face half-way 
toward the General, and quickly bobbing it back 
again to his covert. 

"Are you about ready for an advance, Colonel?" 
quietly continued Hancock, now beginning to smile 
at the ludicrous scene. 

"I rather guess we shall be," came a smothered 
voice from the hole, " when we're ordered to." 

" Perhaps General Hancock may order you to I'' 
politely interposed one of Hancock's aids, as he 
pointed with his drawn sword to the commander of 
the division. 

"General Hancock!" exclaimed the Colonel, spring- 
ing to his feet, and saluting in his best manner. 

" I beg your pardon, General I I feel ashamed to 
be caught in this position. It is my first fight, 
sir. General ! I await your orders. I will follow 
you anywhere !" 

The General and staff now indulged in a good 
natured laugh, in which the Colonel heartily joined 



164 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

As we have said, he was really a brave man, and 
had not the slightest idea of shirking his duty. But 
he saw, in a moment, how he and his new troops 
must appear in that position to Hancock. While the 
General and staff were sitting calmly on their horses^ 
on the brow of the hill over which poured the Con- 
federates' shots, he and his regiment had been lying 
on their faces, flat on the ground. 

" Kegiment !" he shouted, with a lusty voice, from 
which every shake and tremor had now fled : " Up, 
men ! Front face ! Present arms !" 

The whole command rose at the word, sprang into 
position in line, in good order, and gave the salute 
in true military style. The General returned it with 
his accustomed grace ; and, after giving the Colonel 
some additional instructions, passed with his staff 
along the front of battle. 

It is due to that Colonel to state here that he re- 
peatedly distinguished himself on that and other 
occasions; ard, after being wounded in a hand-to- 
hand fight, he has received and now worthily wears 
the honors of' his native State. 

The scene will always be remembered by those 
who took part in it, as somewhat relieving with quiet 
humor the hard features of war. 

In the light of an impartial history it is clear that 



AT ANTIETAM. 165 

the South had not the slightest right to claim a tri- 
umph at Antietam. Our loss was a severe one, owing 
to the unassailable positions of the guns of the enemy ; 
but their loss was much greater, and 'their with- 
drawal, under the circumstances, was a confession of 
defeat. 

"How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, 
With all their country's wishes blest ! 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
Shall oft frequent their hallowed mold, 
She there shall press a fairer sod 
Than Fancy's foot hath ever trod. 
By hands unseen their knell is rung 
By lips unseen their dirge is sung 
There Hronor comes, a pilgrim grey, 
To dress the turf that wraps their clayj 
And Freedom shall awhile repair, 
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Hancock at Fredericksburg — The Passage of the Rappahannock — 
Terrible Slaughter of the Union Troops — Hancock's Line Impreg- 
nable — His Care for his Wounded Men. 

THE Army of the Potomac returned from its 
Peninsular campaign in the fall of 1862. In 
November of that year it arrived at Falmouth, Vir- 
ginia, having made the march from Warrenton, a 
distance of forty miles, in two days and a half. 

The ultimate object of the South was still the con- 
quest of Washington. Encouraged by their allies in 
feeling, at home and abroad, compelled by the impe- 
rious demands of their necessities, they remained as 
long as possible in the vicinity of the national capi- 
tal. A strong column of the enemy, under the justly 
distinguished brave General Thomas J. Jackson, had 
swept down suddenly on our rear, and placed the 
whole Union force, large as it was, at a temporary 
disadvantage. For many days the tide of battle had 

(166) 



BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG. 167 

oeat furiously against the patriot army. Unac- 
quainted with the country, surrounded by swarms of 
active spies, exposed to those deadly malarias of the 
lowlands and swamps to which the great majority of 
them were wholly unaccustomed, the heroic valor of 
our troops was suddenly called to encounter the most 
fearful odds of any that had yet been forced upon 
them. 

The fights in which Hancock had participated at 
Savage Station, Fair Oaks, and at other assailable 
points, were bitter and sanguinary. But in every 
encounter he came off victorious. He had hardly 
received the message to prepare for action at the lat- 
ter place, ere the enemy was charging all around 
him. His vigilance was equal to the emergency. 
The foe's artillery was most furious in its attack on 
his extended lines. A strong brigade of picked men, 
with a characteristic yell, burst on his pickets and 
dashed headlong at his principal battery. The bul- 
lets showered on his devoted camp, from all direc- 
tions. The smoke from the contending guns filled 
all the air of the open spaces, and the sulphurous mist 
of musketry hung like a cloud along the edges of the 
dim forests. The Union men answered the wild 
yells of the enemy with lusty cheers, and drove them 



168 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

back at every onset. Two Georgia regiments were 
nearly cut to pieces by Hancock's guns. He cap- 
tured a considerable number of prisoners ; among 
whom was one of the most prominent of the Southern 
secessionists, Colonel Lamar, of Georgia. He had 
once been a member of the national Congress. A 
Lieutenant Colonel shared his captivity. 

The perilous fighting of those memorable days 
must ever fill a bloody page in the volumes of Ameri- 
can history. Men never fought more bravely, never 
suffered more terrible privations from hunger, expo- 
sure, thirst and fatigue, than did those columns of 
Union troops in all those closing scenes of that Pe- 
ninsular campaign. The unflinching valor of our 
men was admitted on all hands by the enemy. 

One report of these battles states that the following 
conversation took place between our own and some 
Confederate officers. The Union officers asked : 

"Did your men respect Yankee fighters?" 

"Yes!" was the prompt reply. "They quite sur- 
prise us." 

"You admit, then, there has been no faltering 
among us on the Chickahominy ?" 

"Certainly we do! There never could have 
been better fighting than yours in any part of the 
world." 



BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG. 169 

Among all these acknowledged deeds of valor, the 
name of Hancock must ever stand conspicuous. 

The object of the enemy in following rapidly on 
after the Union army was, if possible, to intercept it, 
cut off its supplies, and then dash into Washington. 
They were perfectly familiar with all the Southern 
approaches to the capital. Their leaders in political 
affairs had been wont to rule it by approaches from 
the Southern side ; why should they not possess it 
now, with arms, from the same direction? On all 
of their advances friends and allies surrounded them. 
There were plenty of false men in our own camps. 
In Washington they occupied some of the most lucra- 
tive posts of the Government ; they swarmed through 
all the avenues ; they chatted and whispered, they 
wrote and plotted in some of the most fashionable 
circles of society, and even in the obscure and de- 
tested purlieus of vice. Government plunderers were 
their secret counsellors ; notorious characters were 
their ready spies. Men without a grain of pride or 
patriotism, all through the land, stood ready to aid 
them in the complete subjugation of the capital of 
the nation at the feet of the South. New England 
was to be sloughed off, as a pestilential plague-spot 
on the body politic. New York was to become a 

free city, and form a treaty of amity and alliance 
15 



170 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

with the confederated schemers. The West was to 
assume Mr. Calhoun's attitude of 'masterly inac- 
tivity ' toward the rebellion ; and, satisfied with its 
great interior empire and the free navigation of the 
Mississippi, was to be active only in fighting and 
keeping out of the new Confederation the loathed 
and hated East. 

It was a boldly-formed scheme, with which to 
adorn the ' grim-visaged front ' of a daring seces- 
sion, in which the capital of Washington was to 
figure as the victor's prize. It was to be a triple 
crown of despotic power, emblazoned with the South, 
the Centre, and the West, which the bold hand of 
the Confederacy was to place upon the brow of some 
chosen chieftain. 

The march of the Army of the Potomac to Fal- 
mouth, Virginia, in the middle of November, 1862, 
was one of the first of those strategic movements 
that resulted, ultimately, in the protection of Wash- 
ington. In all that march, however, and while going 
into camp, our troops were seriously annoyed by the 
enemy. By making detours through by-roads, val- 
leys and woods, we avoided those contests in which 
we must invariably have fought at a disadvantage. 

The great object of the enemy — acting, no doubt, 
under the immediate orders of Lee — was to possess 



BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG. 171 

themselves of our guns. These, they well knew, 
would be eminently useful to us in the defence of 
Washington, and they were determined, if possible, 
to wrest them from us. Their most practiced sharp- 
shooters were numerously detailed to pick off our 
gunners and horses, so that, in the miry roads of the 
fall season, the weapons might become an easy prey. 

General Burnside, at that time in command of the 
Army of the Potomac, completely deceived the enemy. 
They had no idea he would take the route he did. 
It was their expectation and hope that he would 
march for the defence of the capital by the way of 
Gordons ville, where they were prepared to assail him, 
in front and rear, from behind their strong entrench- 
ments. 

Our forces advanced in three columns — Hancock 
being on the extreme right of the line. His disci- 
pline of his troops was perfect, and his march made 
in good order. Few stragglers were anywhere to be 
seen ; and he passed on rapidly in advance of the 
main body. The region through which he advanced 
was fearfully desolate. The fiery foot-prints of war 
had been there twice before. 

Falmouth is one of the oldest towns in Yirginia. 
It was settled as early as the year 1717. The houses 
have an antiquated appearance, and but little active 



172 WINF1ELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

business is transacted within its precincts. There is 
no public building in the town of any note. The 
old-fashioned brick dwellings, with their quaint dor- 
mer windows, carry you back to the days when Vir- 
ginia was a colony of England, and when this ancient 
town stood on the outskirts of civilization in the land 
of Pocahontas. 

The troops of General Hancock swept rapidly 
through this region, fording rivers and ascending 
high hills in their march. The soldiers were in good 
spirits, singing gaily their army songs, and reposing 
unbounded confidence in their leader. The head 
waters of the Eappahannock soon came into view, then 
the contiguous heights of the Blue Ridge of moun- 
tains, that put out their spurs from this region to the 
shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The historic travel- 
ler looks in vain for the signs of the English Fal- 
mouth of Henry the Eighth, for the Castles of Pen- 
dennis and Saint Mawes, and the opening view of 
the British Channel. 

The principal importance of Falmouth lies in the 
fact of its close proximity with the larger town of 
Fredericksburg, another of the old but more enter- 
prising Virginia settlements. It is the county-seat 
of Spottsylvania. Its location is on the right bank 
of the Rappahannock river, and has some advantages 



IN THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 173 

for manufactures and commerce. The tide water 
here terminates, at a distance of sixty-five miles north 
of Kichmond. The railway from "Washington to 
Eichmond passes through Fredericksburg, rendering 
it an important point for the possession of an army 
in time of war. 

General Lee had telegraphed to the inhabitants of 
Fredericksburg the fact of the near approach of the 
Union troops. "We approached the town in four col- 
umns — infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Its surrender 
was demanded on the 21st of November, 1862, by 
General Sumner, then commanding the right division. 
A correspondence ensued between him and the civil 
authorities, at the termination of which preparations 
were commenced for shelling the town. The delay 
of the enemy in surrendering, for which every oppor- 
tunity that courtesy could demand was afforded them, 
prompted an attack from the Union batteries. Mean- 
while, General Lee had reached the spot, making it 
as defensible as possible, on his march toward Wash- 
ington. 

On the ensuing 13th of December the battle opened. 
It was fiercely contested on both sides, the Confeder- 
ates having every advantage in position and massing 
of force. 

The shelling of the two previous days, and the 
15* 



174 WINFIELD, TEE LAWYER'S SON. 

landing across the river of bodies of picked men, had 
done the enemy considerable damage. The passage 
of the stream was repeatedly made, and under cir- 
cumstances well calculated to test the valor of our 
patriot troops. In consequence of the impossibility 
of lowering the range of our batteries on the bank 
so as to reach the town in front to advantage, the 
houses and walls in that vicinity afforded protection 
to the sharp-shooters of the enemy, who were busily 
engaged picking off our gunners. Notwithstanding 
this, the cannonading continued from a line of fire 
supplied by one hundred and seventy-nine guns, 
ranging from ten-pounder Parrotts to four-and-a-half- 
inch siege guns, posted along the convex side of the 
arc of the circle, formed by the bend of the river and 
land opposite the doomed town. 

The part of Hancock, in command of a division, 
was everything that became him. His troops were 
among those who performed the daring feat of cross- 
ing the river in open boats, scaling the opposite 
banks, in the face of a deadly fire, and driving off 
the enemy from their lurking places. They scattered 
up the streets at our approach, throwing away arms 
and accoutrements in their rapid flight. The shouts 
of our men swept across the water as they witnessed 
this gallant action, while returning cheers came back 



IN TEE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 175 

from the brave fellows who at such imminent peril 
had won the day. 

Next followed the work of throwing pontoon 
bridges across the river. Our men plunged waist- 
deep into the stream, and worked as men do who are 
under the sacred inspiration of patriotic duty. In 
less than half an hour the first bridge was completed, 
and a body of troops thrown across. The attempt 
to shell them from the heavy batteries was a signal 
failure. 

The principal force of the enemy in Fredericks- 
burg consisted of Mississippians, South Carolinians, 
and Floridians. 

A few months previous to this engagement, General 
Hancock, being still in the advance, had reached 
Bolivar Heights, on the line of the Potomac, early 
in the morning, and driven the enemy before him. 
He passed on to Charlestown, Virginia, which he 
occupied. When at a distance of a mile and a half 
from the town the enemy had opened their batteries 
on him ; but he used his guns to such advantage that 
they were glad to retire. 

Following up this success, he entered Snicker's 
Gap, Virginia, still driving the enemy. A column 
of their infantry advanced to retake it, but the fire 
of the guns of Hancock rapidly dispersed them. 



176 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

These reconnoissances discovered the whereabouts 
of the enemy, and prepared the way for the part 
which Hancock subsequently took in the battle of 
Fredericksburg. Ever on the alert, ever prompt at 
the call for action, he was in every part of the field 
occupied by his division, cheering and animating the 
men by his gallant bearing. 

The passage across the Kappahannock was made 
by General Buknside, then in chief command, under 
the greatest local disadvantages. Deceived by a feint 
of the enemy, who had purposely withdrawn a part 
of his force in front, apparently leaving his defences 
unprotected, Burnside threw his men over the river, 
only to be drawn before the batteries on the hills 
beyond Fredericksburg, from which the most deadly 
and continuous fire was poured into our unprotected 
ranks. It was placing them in the bottom of a great 
basin of land, to be fired upon by the shielded guns 
on the commanding ridges above. The crossing was 
hardly accomplished ere the hidden reserves of the 
enemy were brought rapidly to the front, and massed 
on our extended lines with terrific slaughter. The 
Union troops were swept down before the long files 
of protected batteries, like grass before the scythe of 
the mower. 

The crests in the rear were reached by an ascending 



IN THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 177 

advance that had to be fought, every inch of the way, 
in the face of a galling fire. The country and en- 
trenchments beyond were nearly hidden by a dense 
fog, rendered more impenetrable by the clouds of 
smoke, belching from well- worked guns, that hung 
like a pall on the fortified hills. Every step was 
made by the men in uncertainty as to the numbers 
and positions of the enemy. It was only known 
Lee was before them, and that he was prepared at all 
points for assault or attack. Our own lines were 
more or less detached, being sent forward in separate 
bodies, whose means of communication were imper- 
fect at the base, and liable to be fatally interrupted. 
If the enemy could have been outflanked and reached 
by means of an attack in the rear, the position would 
have been widely different, and the result, no doubt, 
equally so. The attack on our part was all that 
could be expected of brave men. It was steady, 
vigorous, dashing; but the exposure was too great 
for success. By the con dngencies of the fog and our 
delay in throwing over the bridges, the enemy had 
ample time to mass his forces, to complete his de- 
fences, to bring up his reserves, and to place his bat- 
teries in such positions that they could sweep every- 
thing before them. 

During the two days in which the Union army 
M 



178 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

stood in order of battle before Fredericksburg, ad- 
vancing to the very front, and into the flash, and heat, 
and iron deluge of the ever-ceaseless fire, the courage 
of the men was admirable. Their stand was one of 
the boldest ever taken by any army ; and bravely 
they maintained it to the last. The courage with 
which that contest was so long maintained against a 
numerous army strongly entrenched, the skill and 
strategy with which our troops were crossed and re- 
crossed, in the face of the sweeping fire of the enemy, 
will ever reflect credit on the Army of the Potomac. 

The course of General Hancock on that occasion 

• 

exhibits his prudence as well as valor in a most 
striking light. He is generally associated, as he well 
deserves to be, with dashing deeds of brilliant valor ; 
but his course at Fredericksburg, as at other points, 
proves his caution to be equal to his courage. No 
officer is more careful than he of the lives of his men. 
He regards, as he should, these enlisted fellow-citi- 
zens as committed to his care, and that he is respon- 
sible that their lives shall not be thrown away. When, 
therefore, the whole army crossed the Eappahannock 
and drew up in orctar of battle before the entrenched 
legions of Lee, the first movement of Hancock was 
to halt as many of his troops as he could command 
in a sheltered valley. Here he gave them an oppor- 



IN THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 179 

tunity, as a strict tactician, to pause, survey the field, 
and prepare for the deadly onset. The arms were 
stacked, and the men bivouacked for several hours. 
They needed the rest. They fought all the better 
for being granted it by the General. 

The instant the time for decided action arrived, the 
division of Hancock was advancing. He moved for- 
ward close to the river, and remained in that position 
all night. In less than two hours from the time his 
troops were in motion the head of the column had 
crossed the river. When it reached the post assigned 
it, directly in front of the enemy, the men were ankle- 
deep in mud. It was toward the beginning of win- 
ter, and the chilly winds were sweeping through the 
valley of the Eappahannock. But so perfect was the 
discipline of Hancock, that, while camp-fires were 
forbidden, the wet and cold ranks maintained their 
positions in the line. Together officers and men, 
with Hancock at their head, laid down on the wet 
and frosty ground, with no pillow but the muddy 
earth and no covering but the cloudy sky of a De- 
cember night. "With a fortitude and equanimity of 
which history furnishes but few parallels, these heroic 
men bore the privations of that dismal scene, planting 
their colors in the darkness, and resolving to stand 
by them to the last through every trying hour. 



180 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

The battle began with the rising of the sun of the 
following morning. As soon as the division advanced, 
Hancock ordered skirmishers to be thrown out on 
the left flank, the v column still advancing under a con- 
tinuous fire of shot and shell. Kegiment after regi- 
ment coming up and deploying in line of battle drew 
down a sweeping fire from the hidden foe. But our 
force remained at the front, and continued so, during 
the action. Every attempt that was made by the 
enemy to break through Hancock's line was imme- 
diately repulsed. The men halted on the march 
through the upper parts of the city only to form 
more perfect lines of battle, and do the more execu- 
tion in the attack. His voice was heard above the 
roar of conflict, calling on the men who survived : 
" Close up, men ! Steady ! Close up 1 Forward !" 
In the midst of the fearful scenes of carnage that 
followed, the care of Hancock for the hospitals, and 
those wounded who could not reach them, showed 
the character of the man. The buildings selected 
for hospital service were watched over with tender 
care, and as safely guarded as the exciting circum- 
stances of the moment would permit. While wounded 
himself, and remaining in the heat of the battle, he 
was constantly allowing sufferers to retire from the 
field and recross the river. But every permission of 



IN THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 181 

this kind was coupled with the firm command that 
every man whose wounds would admit of it, must 
return to the fight. Hundreds of his division, by his 
good management, were recruited and re-engaged in 
the action in this way. His troops fought well to 
the close, and were brought off in good order. 
Such was Hancock at Fredericksburg. 



16 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Bloody Battle of Chancellorsville — Hancock's Bold Charge 
puts the Enemy's Solid Column to Flight — General Hancock 
Assigned to the Command of the Second Corps U. S. A. 

IF the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, Is to be 
judged by its immediate results, it was disas- 
trous to the Union arms. If it is to be judged by 
its ultimate effects on the American army and peo- 
ple, it was a success to the Union cause. It was a 
fearfully bloody battle ; in some respects one of the 
most so ever fought by any people, in any age. 

The enemy had temporarily succeeded in the Na- 
poleonic movement of massing large bodies of his 
troops in the centre of our most exposed position. 
He did not conquer us ; he could not' justly claim a 
victory ; but he had, for a time, weakened a part of 
our power for offensive warfare. 

This battle was fought in the first week of May, 
1863. The country in which it occurred is nearly 

(182) 



/ 



AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 183 

all wild and unfrequented. Parts of it are still a 
dense, unbroken wilderness. The army of the Union 
was commanded by General Hooker; that of Dis- 
union by General Lee. The advance made by our 
forces was among the tangled forests and dark jun- 
gles of the dismal wastes of Stafford. In some places 
they were completely surrounded by hidden foes, who 
peered upon them unseen from behind dark thickets, 
and fired at their uncovered columns from their des- 
olate refuges among the munitions of rocks. 

Never was a country more capable in itself of be- 
ing defended ; never was one more difficult to over- 
come. It was like a woody Sebastopol in the wilds 
of Virginia ; an inland Gibraltar of the West. 

The Union troops moved into these environed fast- 
nesses, that bristled with hostile bayonets in every 
thick-set wood, and frowned with heavy artillery in 
every rocky pass. Their march was taken up at an 
early hour in the morning, and by seven o'clock the 
army was well massed in the outskirts of that gloomy 
battle-field. 

On the 2d of May General Hancock, then in com- 
mand of a division, posted his men in the most 
guarded manner. Surprises and ambuscades were to 
Ibe looked for, on every hand. The skirmishers were 
thrown out by him in all directions, and abattis and 



184 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER' & SON. 

rifle-pits placed in front. The whole of his line was 
on the edge of a deep, dark wood, where it remained 
in battle array during the whole of that night. 

Early in the morning of the following day the di- 
vision moved forward. The attack on the enemy 
immediately began. Notwithstanding their protec- 
tion in the woods, they were driven out of them, then 
from their rifle-pits, then along the rude plank road 
that lay beyond. A large column, massed in the 
distance, seeing the retreat, rushed backward with 
speed, and, for a time, fairly fled out of sight in the 
jungles. Kifle-pits were constructed rapidjy along 
the enemy's lines, and skirmishing was kept up by 
Hancock, at a distance of only a few hundred yards 
in front of our works on the extreme right. 

At ten o'clock that morning, the skirmish line ex- 
tended some distance down the Fredericksburg road, 
directly fronting and close to the hidden position of 
the rebels. They had opened a brisk fire on our lines, 
at this point, on a previous occasion, keeping up their 
infantry volleys for four successive hours ; but our 
resistance had been so general and so firm, it gradu- 
ally slackened off, and then died away. Every 
attempt to break our lines had proved futile. Yolley 
had been met by volley ; battery by battery ; our 
men growing more energetic and determined at each 



AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 185 

assault, until the rebels were satisfied they could not 
move us from our position, and sullenly withdrew. 
They did not yell once. 

These men were in the immediate command of 
Hancock. He led them in person, placed them in 
the field under his own eye, and remained to take 
part in every engagement. His breastworks were 
well constructed as an offset to sudden assaults from 
the coverts of the woods, while his skirmishers, in 
rifle-pits, were well posted to prevent surprises. The 
men behaved well. Every attempt to enfilade them 
was promply met and repulsed, and every savage as- 
sault to capture our colors was hurled back in defeat. 
Much credit is due to the management of the Union 
batteries, on all these occasions. 

A part of the way to the battle-field had to be pur- 
sued in open boats, where the navigation was tedious, 
and the line of march everywhere exposed to the 
wily foe. Arrived on the ground, our men took their 
positions with a coolness and courage worthy of the 
highest praise. The^ knew not the number of their 
secreted enemy ; they could only tell by the rattling 
rifles and roaring cannon that they were near, and in 
strong force. Dashing on toward them in and 
through the forests, our men repeatedly captured 
their earthworks, and conclusively proved to them 

16* 



186 WINFIELD, THl LAWYER'S SON. 

and the world what we could do, with anything like 
equal numbers and a fair field. 

Hooker, Meade, Keynolds, Couch, Howard, Birney, 
Slocum and Sickles were active in this engagement, 
and were remarkable for the promptness with which 
their plans were carried out, even against the fearful 
odds that opposed them. In the position he occupied, 
Hancock's part was not neglected. His troops were 
among the most valiant and successful of any in that 
bloody battle. 

In the height of the closing scenes of this terrible 
drama of carnage, the division was ordered to strike 
directly across the front of an advancing column of 
hostiles. This column came sweeping furiously on, 
with its famous battle yell, almost demoniac in its 
character, in the shape of one of Napoleon's wedge? 
of war. The design was to thrust it, with the utmost 
violence, in the centre of the Union lines favorably 
situated for the purpose. At this moment Hancock 
dashed directly across the field, in the face of the ad- 
vancing enemy, striking their iron wedge with great 
force at the designated point, staggering its momen- 
tum, laying many of them dead in their impetuous 
march, and breaking the effect of the intended blow. 
In half an hour from the time Hancock struck the 
yelling column, it was in flight from the field. 



AT CHANCELL0RSV1LLE. 187 

The final result of Chancellorsville was a bitter 
disappointment to the enemy. They were not only 
foiled, disconcerted, cheated of their longed-for prey, 
but they found they had met a foe, even in the 
underbrush and rocky ravines, the briery wilds and 
lurking darkness of those dim woods, fully equal 
to their steel. Lee discovered, to his cost, that he 
might slaughter us from behind his ambuscades ; he 
might entangle us in the forests and through the 
winding by-paths with which he was familiar ; but 
he could not and did not conquer us in a hand-to- 
hand fight. The passage of our army across the 
river in the face of imminent danger, is admitted by 
the Southern authorities to have been well done; 
and the recrossing, with a furious enemy close in 
the rear, was as masterly a piece of military strategy 
as was ever performed. 

The enemy lost in this battle five thousand prison- 
ers, fifteen stands of colors, seven pieces of artillery, 
nine thousand wounded, and a large amount of com- 
missary stores and munitions of war. 

By the 6th of June our army was safely across the 
river, at Falmouth. In looking back from this point 
over the field, we find that the division of General 
Hancock, in its imminent position on the extreme 
left, did all that brave men, well led, could have done. 



188 WINF1ELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

Their losses were among the severest of that scene 
of terrible carnage. He not only held his own, in 
the very front of the right, but drove the enemy, at 
all points. No men, on any field of battle, could 
have been handled better than his were. His praise 
was on every tongue ; and the despatches of those in 
superior command speak of his deeds with the highest 
satisfaction. 

It was immediately after this engagement that 
President Lincoln, as Commander-in-chief, assigned 
General Hancock to the command of his favorite 
Second Corps in the Army of the United States. 

The South now initiated new and yet bolder de- 
signs for the destruction of a Union that had never 
done them wrong ; for the overthrow of a constitu- 
tion that had ever provided ample protection for all 
their rights. They massed their scattered forces 
anew, and prepared for a raid further north — the 
domineering onset and fitting conclusion of which 
we now proceed tc describe. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Invasion of Pennsylvania and Maryland — The Famous Heights 
of Gettysburg — " The Army of the Potomac" Confronts Lee's, and 
Prepares for Battle. 

THE invasion of the States of Maryland and Penn- 
sylvania, in the year 1863, by the large and 
picked force under gallant General Eobert Edward 
Lee, must always occupy a conspicuous place in the 
history of the great American Eebellion. In some 
respects it may be regarded as the turning-point in 
the war. By a series of fortuitous circumstances 
the Southrons had won several important victories. 
Flushed with these temporary successes; pressed for 
immediate supplies by the brilliant conquests won 
over their western bases by General Grant and Com- 
modore Foote, they turned, like hungry vultures in 
quest of fresh prey, on the tempting and compara- 
tively unguarded lines of the more Northern border 
States. The successful invasion of these States would 
not only redeem what they had already lost, and 

(189) 



190 WINFIELl^THW LA WYEES SON. 

what they had serious premonitions of losing, at the 
South and West, but it would supply them with 
needed stores from the teeming valleys and fertile 
plains and rich mountain mines of the central region 
of the country ; it would force beneath their tram- 
pling feet, and yield to their clutching hands, eager 
for the prize of victory, the stores and shipping, the 
factories and dwellings of the populous cities of the 
Union. What a splendid prize for the ambitious 
Southron ! With what fond delight the hearts of 
the Confederacy gloated over the glorious prospect 
that opened before them ! 

It was known to the invaders that large bodies of 
the defenders of the Union had returned to their 
homes, their terms of service having expired. They 
entertained the belief that the force they might meet 
would be composed exclusively of the undisciplined 
yeomanry of the regions first to be ravaged, who, 
they imagined, would fall an easy prey to their ad- 
vancing veteran legions. They anticipated, and not 
without reason, that many sympathizers in their 
open and avowed purposes would hasten to meet 
them, with open arms, as they crossed the border. In 
the Atlantic cities, they knew, were large numbers 
of aliens, sworn subjects of foreign monarchs, who 
had sought our country only to witness or hasten its 



AT GETTYSBURG. 191 

dismemberment; who were ready to join, at a mo- 
ment's warning, with anybody and everybody who 
would be most certain to secure its destruction as a 
Republic. These foreigners were led by one of the 
master military spirits of the age, who had gained 
his warlike knowledge in a national academy, and 
now turned that experience against the very parent 
of it. Brave but equally misguided men were with 
him in subordinate capacities, all of whom should 
have been inspired by nobler ambitions, since all 
owed equal fealty to the nation they were striving 
against so earnestly and so bitterly. One had 
occupied a seat in the Congress of the nation ; 
and all of them, from the highest to the lowest in 
rank, who had shared the instructions of our national 
military schools, had been in part sustained there from 
the tributes paid for their education by the people 
of the commonwealths they were at that moment 
aiming to destroy. The United States cadets in that 
invading force were, at the instant of invasion, under 
the most solemn oaths to defend those States against 
all comers; to uphold the flag whose folds waved 
over them when they drank at the fountain of know- 
ledge it guarded, and whose familiar stripes and stars 
now fluttered so reproachfully and yet so gallantly 
before their eyes, from the Union lines in front. 
In spite of all this, in spite of the uncalled-for 



192 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

nature of the rebellion, in spite of the fact that a 
considerable proportion of the citizens about to be 
outraged on the Pennsylvania line, and through the 
contiguous region, were non-combatants, in principle 
and practice, as their fathers had been before them, 
on came the ruthless invaders. If, unlike the bar- 
baric Assyrian, their cohorts were not 

"gleaming with purple and gold," 

they were like him in coming 

"as a wolf on the fold." 

Early in June, 1863, this rampant force of inva- 
ders, followed by a long train of plunder wagons, 
came sweeping down from the seat of war in Vir- 
ginia to the doomed States of Pennsylvania and Ma- 
ryland. The chief schemers in Eichmond, in conjunc- 
tion with their allies in the invading army and among 
their fellow Confederates at the North, had blatantly 
given out that the invasion, this time, was to be a 
success. The free States were to be conquered ; the 
capital of the nation was to be taken and held. They 
knew the country was comparatively unprepared for 
it. They were as well aware as we could be that our 
most reliable troops were nearly all employed on a 
distant and dangerous service. They numbered, 
when the invasion commenced, — they did not num- 
ber quite so many when it ended, — an effective force 



AT GETTYSBURG. 193 

of 90,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, over 4,000 artil- 
lery, — an aggregate of 105,000 men, of all arms. 

On the 28th of June, the Confederates, desperately 
determined to strike a heavy blow, formed their angry 
line of battle on the heights and among the passes 
around the town of Gettysburg. This now memora- 
ble place is situated on elevated ground, in the midst 
of a fertile farming country. It is one hundred and 
fourteen miles west of Philadelphia, and thirty-six 
south of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania. 
Its location gives it a peculiar importance. It stands 
like an interior gateway between the North and South. 
Its college and seminary, its churches, newspapers, 
banks, and manufacturing establishments, award it a 
controlling influence through much of the region 
where it stands. It contained a population of nearly 
5,000. 

The rapid and near approach of the enemy soon 
established the fact that this handsome and retired 
yet unfortified Pennsylvania borough was to be the 
theatre of a sanguinary fight. In the sudden emer- 
gency the most that could be done was to gather 
hastily such of the militia of the country as might 
"be thrown forward to the field. This vast disparity 
between the character of the threatened attack and 

the means at huid for defence was startling to all 
17 N 



194 WINFIELL, THE LAWYER'S SOH. 

concerned. To the assailant it promised an early 
victory; to the assailed a fearful defeat. It is no 
wonder that alarm spread on every hand among the 
borderers. Unprotected families and property de- 
manded the first care of the citizens, ere they could 
arm and prepare to march, all untried as they were, 
to meet the invaders. The only reliable hope for 
confronting and beating back the columns of Lee 
was in the Army of the Potomac ; and that army, at 
the critical juncture of the first approach of the 
enemy, was supposed to be at a comparatively great 
distance. It was not until that noble host, then in 
command of General Hooker, and at the time of the 
action led by General Meade, came on the ground, 
that the work of defence assumed a definite shape. 

The appearance of Meade was, to a large portion 
of the hostiles, like the coming of Banquo's ghost to 
Macbeth. Lee, of course, supposed that Hooker 
would pursue him ; but he had not calculated on the 
alacrity with which our Potomac veterans flew to the 
rescue of the perilled border of the Susquehanna. 
He thought only of Fredericksburg and Chancel- 
lors ville. He had not heard, then, from Gettysburg 
or Vicksburg. As his bold troops moved down to 
the site of the battle and began to deploy in action, 
where they expected and hoped only to meet the raw 



AT GETTYSBURG. 195 

volunteers, hurriedly brought against them, it was 
with ill-disguised astonishment they gazed on the 
dust-covered lines of veterans directly in front. 

" The Army of the Potomac !" " The Army of the 
Potomac !" passed, in gasping tones, along the whole 
ranks. 

" Ah ! they are here I" 

That splendid army was indeed there ; and right 
bravely did it prove its presence through every day 
and hour of the succeeding battle. 

The limits of our volume, and the space necessarily 
occupied by other topics of interest to the general 
reader, will not allow us to narrate all the scenes we 
should be happy to place in these pages connected 
with this signal action. It began on the morning of 
the 1st and closed on the evening of the 3d of July — 
the salvos of its glorious victory, in chorus with those 
of Yicksburg, appropriately ushering in the natal 
day of our nation's independence. 

It is impossible, in this work, to do the justice 
they so richly deserve to all the parties who distin- 
guished themselves or this memorable field. Meade, 
Eeynolds, Sedgwick, Hancock, Slocum, Butterfield, 
Doubleday, Pleasanton, Couch, Gibbon, Graham, 
Sickles, Warren, and a host of others, are all worthy 
«tf honorable mention. The name of Eeynolds de_- 



196 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

serves especial remembrance ; for it was he who was 
first to withstand the surging horde as it swept over 
the heights ; it was he who gave the enemy his first 
decided check ; and he was the first general officer 
who fell on the Union side. All honor to his memory 
— and to that of the heroes who fell around him on 
that and succeeding days, and whose patriot dust has 
been so well enshrined in the National Cemetery at 
Gettysburg. 

The lightnings may flash, the loud thunders rattle, 
They see not, they hear not, they're free from all pain ; 

They sleep their last sleep, they have fought their last battle, 
No sound shall awake them to glory again. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Furious Fight of Gettysburg — General Hancock, with the 
Second Army Corps, in the Centre of the Battle — Colonel Randall 
and the Gallant Thirteenth Vermont — "Colonel, can you take 
that Battery f " " i" can, Sir ! " — Hancock Severely Wounded. 

THE position of General Hancock, in command 
of the Second Army Corps, was near the centre 
of the most active part of the field of battle. His 
right was near the Emmitsburg road, and his left ex- 
tended toward the granite spur of Bound Top. It 
was emphatically a post of honor, for the headquar- 
ters of the commanding General were immediately 
in his rear. The lines of Longstreet, under Hood, 
McLaw, Pickett, Garnett, and Anderson, were directly 
in front. Barksdale, one of the most active of the 
Southern generals, was in advance. Cemetery Hill 
— now so appropriately occupied as the site of the 
great National Cemetery of our Union heroes — was 
17* (197) 



198 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

on his right flank, beyond which was the rebel corps 
of Ewell, under Early and Rhodes. In the rear was 
a large body of cavalry, commanded by the energetic 
Generals Wade Hampton, W. H. F. Lee, and Jen- 
kins, flanked by several batteries of the enemy. The 
brigade of Walker — formerly Stonewall Jackson's — 
extended, as the battle advanced, close to the rear, in 
front of the Twelfth Union Corps, under Slocum, 
aided by Geary, Wadsworth, and Steinwehr. Sedg- 
wick, with the Sixth Corps, was on Hancock's imme- 
diate left wing, and Doubleday, with his splendid 
battery, on the right. 

The plan of the field, prepared by Elliott, under 
the direction of David Wills, Esq., of Gettysburg, 
by authority of Governor Curtin, contains a minute 
and correct sketch of every position occupied by both 
the contending armies, during the whole of the three 
days. The subsequent labors of Mr. Wills, in organ- 
izing and completing the measures that have resulted 
in the establishment of the National Union Ceme- 
tery, are well worthy of the high praise that is so 
generally bestowed upon them. 

On the arrival of General Hancock the Union 
troops, composing the second division of the Eleventh 
Corps, under General Steinwehr, had been ordered 
by Major General Howard to occupy the command- 



IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 199 

ing eminence of Cemetery Hill. At this time Han- 
cock was in command of the entire field, having been 
temporarily assigned to the post by General Meade, 
who had not then reached the lines. He at once sta- 
tioned the troops so as to be prepared for any sudden 
assault the enemy might make. It was a critical 
moment. Our men were arriving rapidly, yet worn 
down with the fatigue of long and forced marches. 
Bat their valor was fully equal to the emergency. 
They repulsed the attack of the enemy, and, main- 
taining their strong position, were soon reinforced by 
the arrival of the Twelfth Corps, under Slocum, and 
a part of the Third, under Sickles. 

The death of Keynolds, in the opening of the fight, 
while bravely leading on the old First Corps, check- 
ing the advance of the rested columns of the rebels 
thrown against the fatigued and smaller ranks of the 
Union, had cast a gloom over the scenes which closed 
the first day's battle. Early on the morning of the 
2d of July, the Commander-in chief arrived on the 
ground. He was pleased to recognize and approve 
the dispositions made by Generals Hancock and How- 
ard, in the sudden emergencies of the hour. The 
.positions taken by these Generals, and those of their 
associates in command, were regarded as favorable, 
and preparations were immediately made for a vigor- 



200 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ous attack on the enemy. The whole Union army 
was at once concentrated at Gettysburg. By seven 
o'clock in the morning of that day, the Second Corps, 
in the immediate command of Hancock, was posted 
at the front. The distance between him and the foe, 
at this moment, was but little over a mile. 

"The click of hammers closing rivets up," 

the clangor of trumpets, the roll of drums, the tramp 
of armed men marching and countermarching, on 
both sides, could be distinctly heard in the opposing 
camps. The pickets of Union and disunion looked 
each other in the face ; and the flags of liberty and 
slavery flapped defiance at each other. The great 
battle was at hand. 

It is but the just tribute of truth to history that 
the fact be recorded here, that the position of General 
Hancock on that memorable field, at that thrilling 
moment, was one of paramount importance. The 
arrival of the Second Corps, followed by the Fifth 
and Sixth, was most opportune. Bat for that arrival, 
it would seem that the day must have gone against 
us. It checked the eager advance of the enemy, 
gave our troops time for much needed rest, and ren- 
dered the numbers of the contending forces more 
nearly equal. 

At the hour of four o'clock in the afternoon of the 



IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 201 

2d of July, the battle was resumed, by the opening 
of the heavy batteries on our nearest lines. General 
Sickles was wounded, and his command forced back. 
At this perilous juncture Efcincock, surrounded by 
his associates, came to the rescue. The enemy was 
in turn driven from the field, and our success ren- 
dered complete. Every desperate attempt of the 
enemy to break our lines, and, especially, to possess 
themselves of our ammunition and supply trains, was 
bravely met aud nobly overcome. 

The morning of the third day broke over the field. 
At early dawn our artillery opened fire, which con- 
tinued several hours ; but near midday no movement 
whatever was made on either side. At this hour, 
following a silence more awful in such a spot than 
all the thunders of battle, the rebel batteries directed 
a deadly fire against the Corps of Hancock. Lee 
had vainly imagined this to be his most favored point 
of attack. Dashing from behind the woods of Ceme- 
tery Eidge, the flower of that part of the enemy's 
force swept onward to the very muzzles of Hancock's 
guns. His well-tried Corps, aided by Doubleday and 
Stannard, met the shock with all their wonted cool- 
ness and courage, and hurled the foe back in con- 
fusion. 

It was at this moment the scene occurred of which 



202 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

our artist has given the reader the graphic illustra- 
tion that accompanies these pages. The Thirteenth 
Vermont regiment, Colonel Kandall, was in a position 
to render assistance to one of our endangered batte- 
ries. General Doubleday, riding rapidly up ; drew 
off' a portion of the command. They quickly obeyed 
his summons, and rendered such support to the ar- 
tillery that the guns were not only saved but enabled 
to continue to supply effective service. The remain- 
der of the regiment was in line of battle, ready for 
action, at a moment's warning, when a fresh battery 
opened in a new and powerful position, doing us con- 
siderable damage. 

General Hancock, perceiving the crisis at a glance, 
galloped to the Yermonters, through repeated showers 
of shot and shell from the enemy, and saluting and 
addressing Kandall, as he pointed with his sword to 
the rebels and their guns, enquired : 
" Colonel ! can you take that battery ?" 
The Colonel lifted his cap, returning the salute, 
and quickly replied : 
" I can, General I" 

In a moment more came the Colonel's order : 
" Thirteenth Vermont ! Forward ! Double-quick !" 
The Green Mountaineers wheeled at the word, and, 
with fixed bayonets, rushed on the batteries of the 



IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 203 

enemy. Colonel Eandall, a gentleman somewhat 
advanced in years, kept his cap waving in his hand, 
his few remaining locks streaming in the wind, 
as he rushed in front, cheering, at the top of his 
voice : 

"Forward! men! forward!" 

Hancock was near them as they dashed on to within 
firing distance of the battery, and poured among the 
enemy ten volleys from their well-aimed rifles. 

"Charge I " cried Eandall, his tones clear and strong 
above the roar of the Confederate cannon. 

" Come on, boys ! Now or never !" 

Instantly the men sprang toward the gunners, 
every bayonet fixed, and doing its work. They 
rushed over the belching mouths of the guns, leaped 
along the caissons, and, with a mountain shout, drove 
the enemy from the hill, and brought off every piece 
to the Union rear. 

This gallant deed was scarcely achieved, ere Gene- 
ral Hancock rode along the lines again, and enquired : 

"What regiment is this?" 

" The Thirteenth Vermont, sir," answered Colonel 
Eandall, still holding his nap in his hand. 

"You have done yourselves great honor," con- 
tinued Hancock. " The whole army will render you 
thanks." 



204 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

It was not long after this brilliant achievement 
that the General was wounded. He was laid bleed- 
ing on the grass, surrounded by anxious groups of 
officers and men. The breastworks of the enemy 
were but a short distance off) and the battle was still 
raging. 

"Shall we not carry you to the rear, General?" 
enquired Colonel Yesey, who was near him. 

" No, I thank you, Colonel," said Hancock, waving 
his hand gracefully, in the midst of his pain, calmly 
adding : 

"Attend to your commands, gentlemen; I will 
take care of myself." 

In connection with a preceding charge on Han- 
cock's Corps occurred the death of the brave General 
Barksdale. Our forces had been pushed forward to 
meet the enemy, who were dashing furiously on our 
lines. After the enemy had been repulsed, some cap- 
tured prisoners informed Colonel Yesey, then in com- 
mand of the captors, that their General had fallen, 
and was lying in front, on the ground. The Colonel 
immediately advanced his line of skirmishers until 
they came to the place designated. There they found 
the dying General, stretched on the grass, weltering 
in his blood and writhing in agony. They raised 
him up carefully and carried him to the rear of our 



IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 205 

lines. He was speechless ; and died about two hours 
after. 

By the afternoon of Friday, July 3d, the storm of 
the battle had ended. The retreat of the enemy be- 
gan immediately after his discomfiture. He literally 
stood not upon the order of going, but went — and 
that so rapidly, that he left nearly eight thousand 
prisoners, and sick and wounded, in our hands. The 
aggregate loss of Lee was thirty-seven thousand men 
— among whom were seven Generals killed in the 
battle, and six wounded. He lost in prisoners, in- 
cluding the wounded, thirteen thousand six hundred 
and twenty-one. Of trophies there were three guns, 
forty-one colors, and of small arms twenty -four thou- 
sand nine hundred and seventy eight. 

Such was the battle of Gettysburg. Of the part 
taken in it, from its beginning to its close, by General 
Hancock, his friends may well cherish a grateful re- 
membrance. The influence of this victory over the 
invaders of his native State will always be felt, and 
the gallant deeds of her son be cherished, not only 
through Pennsylvania, but in all the land. 

During the severest part of the third day's battle, 

there was a period when the troops in command of 

General Birney were in imminent peril. A large 

force of the enemy, sweeping furiously down from 

18 



206 WIN FIELD, TEE LAWYER'S SON. 

the contiguous hills, had nearly environed him in 
their deadly embrace. General Hancock, perceiving 
the danger from his centre, placed himself at the 
head of a picked division, and dashed rapidly for- 
ward to the scene. His gallant approach was noticed 
by all, and those who were nearest to him among the 
participants in the sanguinary struggle, felt sure 
that some important and brilliant movement was in 
hand. 

Approaching the disordered lines, he bowed po- 
litely to the commander, and said : 

" General Birney ! you are nearly surrounded by 
the enemy." 

"I know it, General Hancock," replied Birney; 
" I am doing my best against a superior force." 

"I have brought you these reinforcements," con- 
tinued Hancock, waving his hand toward the rapidly 
coming troops. 

" You will place them, at your discretion, General 
Birney; and I will hold you responsible for their 
lives. General Willard, in immediate command, will 
fight the men." 

The balls of the infuriate enemy, who had been 
bitterly disappointed at the reception given him by 
the lines of Hancock, were flying through the air 



IN TEE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. _ 207 

like a driving storm of hail. General Hancock coolly 
maintained bis seat on horseback, and watched, for a 
few moments, the dispositions made of the reinforce- 
ments he had so opportunely brought. 

Bowing gracefully to the parting salute of the 
Generals and others in command, he turned the head 
of his horse toward another part of the hotly-con- 
tested field. At that moment a ball passed near him, 
and struck directly in the forehead of General Wil- 
lard, who fell dead at his feet. The look of Hancock 
at that thrilling instant is indescribable. He gazed si- 
lently on his fallen and gallant companion in arms, and 
then glanced his searching eye to note its effects on the 
men. Every man was at his post, fighting bravely 
still, as the new commander stepped forward to the 
vacant place. Again he waved his hand as a signal 
of adieu to the heroic troops who were standing up 
so bravely for the old flag, and dashed onward to- 
ward the next post of duty and danger. As the two 
Generals, Hancock and Birney, rode rapidly along, 
reviewing the lines, giving orders and words of en- 
couragement, the brave fellows who lay wounded in 
their path would raise themselves up from the crim- 
soned grass, and answer with cheers : 

" General I we're driving them ! Hurra !" 



208 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER' S SON. 

Kegardless of their own sufferings, they rejoiced 
thus in the triumph of our country, some of them 
amid the very agonies of death. 

" It was more than we could bear," said General 
Birney, relating the scene, as he remembered how his 
own tears, and those of the dashing Hancock, fell 
among those dying heroes. 

u What gem hath dropped and sparkles o'er his chain ? 
The tear most sacred shed for others' pain; 
That starts at once, bright, pure, from pitv's mine, 
Already polished by the hand divine." 

It is no wonder to us, when we become familiar 
with such incidents as these in the career of General 
Hancock, that he should be so dear to the hearts of 
his men. When the roar of battle was the loudest, 
he was sure to be present, if in his power to be. 
"Where his gallant soldiers fell the fastest, he was 
always certain to be near. The humblest man in the 
ranks never passed unnoticed. His manly, command- 
ing presence acted like a charm wherever seen, and 
his well-chosen words passed like an electric force 
from rank to rank. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

General Hancock at Home after the Battle — The Wounded Hero 
an Object of Adoration — An Elegant and Costly Testimonial from 
the Friends of his Youth — Once more at the Front. 

THE brief sojourn of General Hancock with his 
parents, in Norristown, during a part of the 
summer of 1863, was as agreeable as the state of his 
severe wound would permit. On his reaching home 
from the battle-field of Gettysburg, the citizens 
flocked around to pay him their respects. His posi- 
tion in the railway car, where he was placed at length 
on a stretcher laid over the backs of the seats, drew 
to his side many sympathizing friends, who united 
to testify their warm admiration of his character. 
Arrived at the station, in Norristown, he was met by 
a detachment of the Invalid Guards, who tenderly 
placed him on their shoulders, and bore him through 
the streets. The inhabitants along the route, as may 
well be supposed, were deeply moved at the sight. 
18* (209) 



210 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Not knowing the extent of his wounds, and seeing 
him thus prostrate in the hands of soldiers, marching 
with a steady step on the side- walks, they watched the 
scene with peculiar interest. The boy of other days 
had now come as a Major General of the Army of the 
United States, bearing on his person a wound that 
attested the love he bore his native land. The door- 
ways and windows of the silent route were crowded 
with anxious faces, down some of which coursed the 
tears of sympathy. 

What a change to Winfield from the days of his 
youth ! How thickly the thoughts of boyhood, of 
school, of playmates and familiar scenes, crowded the 
mind of the gallant soldier ! With what tender wel- 
comes he was greeted at the threshold of the family 
mansion, and with what affectionate care he was 
borne to his quarters under the parental roof! Gen- 
tle assiduities, found only within the hallowed pre- 
cincts of home, smoothed his couch of pain, and 
ministered to him there. Here let us draw the cur- 
tain, and leave him to repose. 

His recovery was gradual, but sure. In a short 
time his active energies were again at work. His 
mind soon reverted from that sick-room, from his 
own physical sufferings, to the condition of his coun- 
try, and his duties in the service. As he gained in 



HIS PULLIC TESTIMONIALS. 211 

strength, his fellow-citizens waited upon him, as op- 
portunity offered, and testimonials of personal friend- 
ship were added to those of a public character. His 
fellow townsmen took immediate steps to testify their 
appreciation of his signal services. At the instiga- 
tion of several of his youthful companions, and 
others, under the direction, principally, of B. C. 
Chain, Esq., a service of gold and silver plate was 
prepared, and subsequently presented to him. The 
set consists of nine pieces, elegantly embossed, and 
bears the following inscription : 

TO 

MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 

FROM 
CITIZENS OF HIS BIRTH-PLACE, 

N0RRIST0WN, 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

July 4th, 
1864. 

Crowning the inscription on each piece is the badge 
of the Second Corps — the Trefoil, or three-leaved clo- 
ver — a peculiar plant, called by some the 'none-such/ 
indicative of rare honor, and a choice ornament in 
the architecture of the temple of fame. 

The cost of this beautiful and appropriate testimo- 
nial was sixteen hundred dollars. Its value to the 



212 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

recipient cannot be computed in silver or gold. It 
was a pleasant reminder to Mm of the days spent as 
a boy in Norristown, and a proof, more precious than 
jewels, that his playmates had not forgotten them, 
nor the manly part he took in their youthful scenes. 
They had ever regarded him as a leader among them ; 
and this valuable memorial was a renewed assurance 
that they now held him worthy to be a commander 
in the patriot army of the nation. 

The moment the state of his health would permit, 
he resumed his labors for his country. He had a 
good right to feel that the wound he bore was an 
honorable one ; that he had won it bravely in a noble 
cause. Every view taken of the part he bore in the 
battle that caused it, abundantly confirms this state- 
ment. 

In reviewing the field of Gettysburg, the country- 
men of Hancock must ever be impressed with the 
great value of his services on that occasion. On the 
fall of the lamented Keynolds, Hancock had pro- 
ceeded at once to Gettysburg, and assumed command 
of the three Army Corps then in that vicinity — the 
First, Third and Eleventh. It had been contemplated 
to give the enemy battle at a place called Pipe creek ; 
but, on arriving on the ground, Hancock was con- 
vinced that Gettysburg was a much better place for 



HIS PUBLIC TESTIMONIALS. 213 

an engagement. The disposition of the whole army 
was made at that point, therefore, by his immediate 
direction. When he reached the field of action, at 
two o'clock in the afternoon of the first day, every- 
thing was in confusion. Our troops were prema- 
turely retreating in all directions. He immediately 
put forth his utmost exertions; and, being well 
seconded by his staff, succeeded in restoring order, 
and posted the troops at those advantageous points 
which they continued to occupy during the fight, and 
at which they won the victory. Their positions near 
the Cemetery, connecting the lines with Culp's Hills 
and along the commanding ridges, to the base of 
Bound Top, were the strongest that could be assumed 
by our side ; and all of them were made by order of 
General Hancock. It was on this line that the crown- 
ing battle of Gettysburg was fought and won. 

The reports of these positions were made in full 
detail by Hancock to General Meade, when he came 
on the ground. Not one of them was materially 
changed, all 1 irough the succeeding battles. Their 
great advantages were at once admitted, and the suc- 
cess whieh attended them is a conclusive proof of the 
military skill of Hancock. 

His subsequent part in the action of the left centre 
is well known to all. The repulse of the fierce 



214 WINFIELD, THE LAWY1 R'S SON. 

assault at that point was the key note of the day. 
Victorious there, against the most desperate onslaughts 
of the picked legions of Lee, he was prompt to send, 
unasked, the support that was needed in other direc- 
tions. It was while engaged in a splendid repulse 
of the enemy, aiding the weakened columns of the 
right wing against the fierce main attack, that he fell 
seriously wounded. From this spot he was borne 
from the field, when the victory was pronounced com- 
plete, to his Norristown home. 

The wound was of such a nature as to compel him 
to employ an amanuensis, whom he directed to write 
to his family and parents. Under the kind care he 
received he recovered sufficiently to leave Norristown 
for West Point. How natural the transition ! On his 
way thither, stopping at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in 
New York, he writes home, under date of September 
15, 1863, requesting that certain military documents 
should be arranged and forwarded, in order that he 
might hasten his return to the field. 

The receptions that had greeted him in his native 
county, in Philadelphia, and other places, were fol- 
lowed up in the Metropolitan City. Public atten- 
tions welcomed him, on every side. We can well 
understand how cordial must have been his greeting 
at old West Point. What a contrast was there between 



HIS PUBLIC TESTIMONIALS. 215 

nis former and present sojourns in that national mili- 
tary school ! His fellow cadets were all gone ; some 
of the professors had followed them ; but the scenes 
of other days came freshly back upon him, and he 
lived again in the haunts and studies of the past. 

As soon as possible he reached his wife and chil- 
dren at ' Longwood,' near St. Louis, Missouri. Writing 
to his father from that city, under date of October 
12th, '63, he says : 

" I threw aside my crutches a few days after my arrival, and now 
walk with a cane. I am improving, but do not yet walk without a 
little 'roll.' My wound is still unhealed, though the doctors say it 
is closing rapidly. I find some uneasiness in sitting long on a chair, 
and cannot yet ride. The bone appears to be injured, and may give 
me trouble for a long time. I hope, however, I may be well enough 
in two weeks to join my Corps. 

I am busy in trimming up the forest trees in the lawn of ' Long- 
wood,' which covers nearly eleven acres. I know it is not the best 
time ; but still it will do. 

Alice and the children send their best love to you and mother. 

Please give my best love to mother, and I remain, as ever, 
Your affectionate Son, 

Winfield S. Hancock." 

"To B. F. Haneook, Esq., 

Norristown, Pa." 

Every true parent in the land must prize such 
epistolary expressions as these from such a man as 
General Hancock. They show him as he really is. 



216 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Every youth, too, should learn a lesson from them, 
never to be forgotten. 

The people of St. Louis united with their fellow- 
citizens elsewhere to do him honor. We shall speak 
in another part of this volume of the tribute they 
paid to his valor as a soldier and his worth as a man, 
in the elegant sword presented to him as a public tes- 
timonial from the Western Sanitary Fair in that city. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Ordered to Washington — His Headquarters at Harrisburg — In- 
spiring Address to the Citizens of his Native State — The City 
Councils of Philadelphia Honor Pennsylvania's Son — Reception 
in Independence Hall. 

ON the 15th of December, 1863, Hancock was 
again ordered to Washington. His Gettysburg 
wound was not yet healed, but he obeyed the order 
with alacrity, and immediately reported himself for 
duty at the War Department. 

It was during this period that he was talked of in 
influential circles for the command of the Army of 
the Potomac. There is no impropriety in stating 
that it was at one time seriously contemplated to 
place him in this position. He, however, did not 
seek it ; neither did his friends seek it for him. On 
the contrary, he disclaimed all such desire ; and the 
most active of his immediate counsellors were stren- 
uous in their efforts to dissuade him from accepting 
the command. On all becoming occasions he ex- 
pressed the opinion that General Meade was the man 

19 (217) 



218 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX 

for the post ; and that if lie were continued in active 
command and properly supported by the authorities 
and the country, he would win great victories. Pass- 
ing results have shown the wisdom as well as mag- 
nanimity of General Hancock in this matter. He 
well knew by experience the obstacles in the way to 
success with that army, at that peculiar juncture; 
and, therefore, as we have said, he did not seek the 
appointment, neither did he desire his friends to seek 
it for him. There is good reason for stating, how- 
ever, that if General Meade had made a request to 
be relieved, General Hancock would have relieved 
him. 

He was soon detailed to the responsible work of 
increasing the ranks of the army, by his personal 
presence and exertions. Authority was given him 
to augment his Corps to fifty thousand effective men. 
His headquarters were established at Harrisburg, the 
capital of his native State, and he immediately pro- 
ceeded to the work among his fellow Pennsylvanians. 
His language and measures on the occasion were well 
chosen, and to the point, his object being to recruit 
in all the States represented in the Second Corps. 

Addressing the people of Pennsylvania, from his 
headquarters, at Harrisburg, under date of January, 
15, 1864, he says : 



RECRUITING. 219 

41 1 have come among you as a Pennsylvanian, for the purpose of 
endeavoring to aid you in stimulating enlistments. This is a matter 
of interest to all the citizens of the State. I earnestly call upon 
you all to assist, by the exertion of all the influence in your power, 
in this important matter. 

To adequately reinforce our armies in the field is to insure that 
the war will not reach your homes. It will be the means of bring- 
ing it to a speedy and happy conclusion. It will save the lives of 
many of our brave soldiers, who would otherwise be lost by the 
prolongation of the war, and in indecisive battles. 

It is only necessary to destroy the rebel armies now in the field, 
to insure a speedy and permanent peace. Let us all act with that 
fact in view. 

Let it not be said that Pennsylvania, which has already given so 
many of her sons to this righteous cause, shall now, at the eleventh 
hour, be behind her sister States in furnishing her quota of the men 
deemed necessary to end this rebellion. Let it not be that those 
Pennsylvania regiments, now so depleted, that have won for them- 
selves so much honcr in the field, shall pass out of existence, for want 
of patriotism in the people. 

Winfield S. Hancock, 

Major General U. S. Volunteers." 

His success in recruiting was equal to the expecta- 
tions formed. Subsequent events have well attested 
the efficiency of his measures. Facilities for carrying 
out his patriotic design were offered him in the cities 
of New York, Albany, Boston, and other places. 

At Philadelphia, in the ensuing month of February, 
public demonstrations of respect awaited him. The 
city government passed a series of resolutions, intro- 
duced by one of his former playmates at Norristown, 
then a member of the Councils, John "W. E verm an, 
Esq., of which we here present a copy : 



220 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON 



Select mil Common <2Toutxcfls ) 

of the > 

City of Philadelphia. \ 



WELCOME 

TO 

MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 

Resolved, By the Select and Common Councils 

or the 

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 

That the THANKS of the Citizens of Philadelphia are eminently 

due and are hereby tendered to 

MAJOR GENERAL HANCOCK, 
for his brilliant services in the cause of the UNION, during the 
present unholy Rebellion against the authority of the Gov- 
ernment and People of the United States. 
Resolved, That the use of XnoepenTience 3^all be granted to Major 
General Hancock, for the reception of his friends ; and in 
order to afford the Citizens of Philadelphia an opportunity to 
testify their personal regard for him, and their appreciation 
of his gallantry and patriotism. 
Resolved, That the Mayor of Philadelphia and the Presidents 
of Councils be requested to carry these resolutions into effect ; 
and that the Clerks of Councils be requested to furnish a 
copy of the same to General Hancock. 

Alex'r J. Harper, 
[City Seal.] President of the Common Council. 

James Lynd, 
President of the Select Council. 
Attest: Wm. F. Small, 

Clerk of Common Council. 

Approved February 18th, 1864. 

Alex. Henry, Mayor. 



HIS PUBLIC RECEPTIONS. 221 

The reception of the General and his friends fol- 
lowed soon after, in Independence Hall. The papers 
of the day describe the scene as one of the most im- 
posing that ever occurred within the walls of the 
sacred old Temple of American Liberty. 

On the ensuing 2 2d of February, the anniversary 
of the birth-day of Washington, General Hancock 
reviewed the volunteer troops of Philadelphia and 
vicinity. The parade passed off in the most spirited 
manner. The appearance of the General on the field, 
surrounded by a brilliant staff, passing along the line 
with the troops arranged as if in battle array, was 
full of excitement, and called forth the loud plaudits 
of the immense throng of citizens who witnessed the 
display. Some idea of his presence in action could 
be formed by the gallant bearing of the General on 
this popular occasion. 

At the close of the review an incident of a per- 
sonal character occurred, which we narrate here, as 
in keeping with the man and the scope of our book. 

The General had dismounted, at the close of the 
day, and was about passing up the steps of the La 
Pierre House, surrounded by the officers who escorted 
him, when his eye caught that of his early teacher 
in Norristown, Mr. E. Roberts, who was standing, 
with his daughter, near the entrance- to the hotel. 

19* 



222 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 

The General paused, and extending his hand to the 
two friends of his early years, expressed his pleasure 
at meeting them, and introduced them to the gentle- 
men present. It was a singular but agreeable meet- 
ing between the old teacher and the now distinguished 
scholar. 

" Call and see me at the hotel, Mr. Roberts, when 
I am more at leisure," said the General. " When I 
am a little stronger from the effects of my wound, 3 
will return the call." 

At the appointed time, the teacher and scholar met 
again. As Mr. Roberts entered the private room of 
the General, at the La Pierre, he was lying on his 
couch, suffering from the fatigue to which the review 
of the previous day had subjected his wounded limb. 
Bat he rose at once to pay the respect due from a 
good scholar to a good teacher. 

" Do not rise, General Hancock," said Mr. Roberts ; 
" I feel, sir, that you are laying me under too much 
obligation by doing so." 

"No, Mr. Roberts," the General replied, "I shall 
always feel, sir, that I am under obligations to you." 

" It is sufficient honor for me, General, to have had 
you for a scholar." 

" No, sir. I feel that my teachers have all honored 
me. Beside, sir, you are much the older man of the 



HIS PUBLIC RECEPTIONS. 223 

two ; and my parents always taught me to reverence 
grey hairs." 

" I did not have grey hairs when you first knew 
me, General." 

"True, sir. Our mutual obligations were formed 
when we were both younger than now. But I can- 
not omit to use my anatomy now, even if it is im- 
paired. Let me be ever so old, I can never forget 
my school-teachers. I feel that my experience in life 
has proved this to be true : as is the teacher, so is the 
school-boy ; as is the school-boy, so is the man." 

Other parties calling in, this interesting interview 
was closed. But not long after the General took his» 
son Eussell with him, and called on his old teacher. 

"This gentleman, my son," said the General, "is 
one of the teachers of your father, when, like you, 
he was a boy. Eemember always to respect the 
teacher of your youth ; and, should you live to be- 
come a man, you will never regret it." 

It is this spirit of the man that stamps the name 
of Hancocf. with peculiar honor. He was always 
the same among his soldiers. An officer of the staff" 
of another distinguished General, in alluding to this 
attribute of Hancock's character, says of him : 

" The attachment that he manifests for his brave 
soldiers is remarkable. While he despises a coward, 



224 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

if the humblest man in the ranks should be the first 
to enter Eichmond, as a conqueror, General Hancock 
would be among the first to do him honor." 

Passing from Philadelphia to New York, he was 
received in the latter city with much distinction. The 
Governor's Eoom, in the City Hall, was placed at his 
disposal, for the reception of his friends, and every 
measure adopted that could be to aid him in procur- 
ing recruits for his Corps. A large number of his 
troops were from the Empire State. They were so 
much attached to his person, and their acquaintances 
at home so .participated in the feeling of attachment, 
that when he presented himself to the people he was 
claimed by them as a New Yorker. This impression 
became so common, for a time, that one of the publish- 
ers of that city announced a volume on his life, as a 
New York General. 

Passing to Albany, the capital of the State of New 
York, the Legislature paid him an official tribute 
of respect for his distinguished services to the 
country. 

The same honors were bestowed upon him in Bos- 
ton, the capital of Massachusetts, where the General 
Court invited him to their Eepresentative Chamber, 
and where the merchants and other citizens waited 
upon him at the City Exchange. His agreeable man- 



HIS PUBLIC DECEPTIONS. 225 

ners, added to his well-known courage and skill in 
battle, created the most favorable impressions wher- 
ever he went on his tour of duty through New Eng- 
land. Patriotic applause greeted him at every point, 
and a considerable number of fighting recruits flocked 
to his standard. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Hancock's Campaign with Grant — He is made Major- General of 
Volunteers — The Fight in the Wilderness — Our Hero again 
Wounded — Generals Stuart and Johnson, the Prisoners of his 
Command — Affecting Meeting with Old Companions. 

ON the 18th of March, 1864, the General, while 
still actively engaged in recruiting his Corps, 
writes to his father from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : 

" I have just received an order from the Secretary of War, to re- 
port without delay to him for instructions, prior to rejoining my 
command in the field. I have but time to notify you of the fact." 

Such was the modest announcement of his entrance 
on that great campaign with Lieutenant General 
Gkant, in which he has borne his part with so much 
propriety. 

His position at the head of the Second Army Corps 
was one in which he felt at home. He knew the 
men, and they knew him. A large proportion of 
them were citizens of his native Pennsylvania, and 
had enlisted in the service of the United States under 
him as their commander. His presence among them 

(226; 



IN THE CAMPAIGN WITH GRANT. 227 

always excited enthusiasm, and his fearless exposures 
of his person inspired them to deeds of valor. As 
a leader he resembled Murat ; but, while he had all 
the dash and brilliancy, he displayed the attributes of 
a true patriot enlisted in a far better cause than that 
of any Marshal of France. His convictions of the 
justice of the war for the American Union were firm 
and resolute. It was, therefore, with the ardor be- 
coming the great occasion before him, an occasion 
on which he felt was staked the very life of the Ke- 
public, that he proceeded to the front and resumed 
his command. 

The army marched from Culpepper Court House, 
Virginia, on the 3d of May, Hancock leading the 
advance. This post of honor was eminently his due. 
In all the previous battles in which he was engaged 
he had won it by merit on the field. At the sanguin- 
ary fight at Fredericksburg, he had proved how wor- 
thy he was to occupy it by the skill with which he 
fought his men. On that occasion, out of five thou- 
sand under his command, two thousand fell around 
him, killed or wounded, including over one hundred 
and fifty commissioned officers. He was much ex- 
posed on the field, and had three of his Aids wounded 
by his side. When the report came in from a flag 
of truce sent to the enemy to make arrangements for 



228 WIN-FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOtf. 

the burial of our dead, it was found that the men 
nearest the earthworks, far in advance of the Union 
lines, were largely composed of the division of Han- 
cock. No other troops but his, and those of Kim- 
ball's brigade, had ventured so close to the face of 
the foe. 

It was immediately after these signal services, as 
a leader of the advance, that he was nominated by 
General Burnside as Major General of Volunteers. 
His appointment to that rank dates from November 
29th, 1862. 

In the battle of Chancellorsville, where our whole 
army was so exposed to the hidden and furious on- 
slaughts of the enemy, he occupied the advance of 
the extreme left wing. Through all the savage as- 
saults made upon him he held his position firmly, 
and handled his command with such judgment and 
energy, as to elicit the admiration of all who wit- 
nessed his movements. 

His position at Antietam and Gettysburg was pre- 
cisely the same — in the advance. At the latter place 
his line of battle was thrown forward for a mile and 
a half in the immediate front of a large body of the 
centre of the enemy, composed of their best troops. 
It was on this position of Hancock that Lee opened 
his principal fire from his batteries of one hundred 



IN TEE CAMPAIGN WITH GRANT. 229 

and fifty guns. The whole of the left and of the 
left centre withstood this tremendous cannonading 
with unflinching valor, with Hancock at their head. 
It was toward the close of this assault, that he, and 
General Gibbon, temporarily commanding the Second 
Corps, received their severe wounds. 

It is not surprising, in view of such facts as these 
and others like them in the history of General Han- 
cock, that he should be assigned to an active position 
at the front by so justly distinguished a man as Lieu- 
tenant General Grant. Neither is it to be wondered 
at that he should have filled his post so well in the 
last campaign for the conquest of Kichmond. 

His first battle under Grant was that fought in the 
Wilderness. This action took place on the 5th of 
May. The scenes connected with it are among the 
most exciting of any in military history. 

Our troops had gone forward to the fight with an 
ardor that was truly irrepressible. 

" Hark ! I hear the tramp of thousands, 
And of armed men the hum : 
Lo! a nation's hosts have gathered 
Round the quick alarming drum. 
Saying, ' Come, 
Freemen, come, 
Ere your heritage he wasted !' 

Said the quick alarming drum." 

The scene of war was reached in a few hours' rapid 
20 



230 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

marching. The battle began on the 5th of May. On 
placing his troops in the field, Hancock found a strong 
force of the enemy massed against him. He im- 
mediately commenced the attack. 

The spirits of the men were worthy at that mo- 
mentous hour of their cause and their commander. 
The country around has been already described as 
among the wildest parts of one of the wastes of Vir- 
ginia. Its surface is thickly dotted with densely 
wooded hills, interspersed with marshy lowlands, and 
sandy desert plains. It was settled as long ago as 
1675, the county bearing the name of Old Stafford, 
in England. It is separated from the adjoining State 
of Maryland by the Potomac river, and supplied 
mainly by the Rappahannock. 

Into this well-named Wilderness Hancock marched 
his patriot men, and pitched battle against the ene- 
mies of our country. At the first attack the enemy 
fell back; but, adopting their familiar Napoleonic 
tactics, they soon after massed their forces, and made 
a combined furious attempt to break our main centre, 
directly between the Second Corps, under Hancock, 
and the Fifth, under Warren. It was all in vain. 
They were hurled back in confusion. 

On the following Thursday the battle was resumed 
with new vigor. Hancock occupied the extreme left 



IN THE WILDERNESS. 231 

wing, with a cavalry support resting on a point be- 
tween Parker's Store and Shady Grove Church. 

The attack was commenced by the rebels on Fri- 
day morning, Longstreet striking with all his might 
at Hancock. They had fought together, before, in 
Mexico. The Second Corps bore their brunt of the 
battle with all their wonted steadiness. The General 
was at every post where his presence was needed, 
cheering on his men, standing, at times, like a pri- 
vate in the ranks, and aiding to hurl back the surg- 
ing columns of the foe thrown so furiously against 
him. Every inch of the desperate assault was con- 
tested along the whole line, and, by a wise combi- 
nation of forces, the order of battle was maintained, 
and the enemy repulsed, with great slaughter. 

The part taken by the Corps of Hancock is well 
attested by the number of its slain and wounded, in 
officers and men. Among the former were General 
Hays, commander of the Second Brigade, Third 
Division, who fell mortally wounded on that bloody 
field of glory ; and Getty, Gregg, Owen, Bartlett, and 
Carroll, were wounded. While in the act of rallying 
his men, in the front of the battle, Hancock was 
again wounded, but maintained his position on the 
field. The enemy rushed upon him in solid masses, 
line sweeping on behind line. Some portions of the 



232 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

ground on his front were fought over four or five 
times in succession. 

The arrival of reinforcements, under Burnside, 
with the Ninth Corps, was most opportune. His ap- 
pearance was loudly cheered by the brave men who 
had so nobly met and overcome the enemy. His 
colored troops rendered effective service in guarding 
exposed points, while the great body of his men par- 
ticipated with signal success in the severe battle of 
Friday. 

Our cavalry, under Custer, Gregg, Merritt, Davis, 
and others equally deserving of mention if their 
names were at command, pursued the retreating 
columns of Lee. The battle became general toward 
the close of Saturday, in which we held our own 
against considerable odds, and, at certain points, con- 
tinued to drive the enemy. 

Hancock pushed forward his advance. On the 
ensuing Sunday he reached Alsop's farm, where a 
severe engagement ensued. In the evening, as the 
result of this battle, Grant advanced his entire lines 
— Hancock on the right. The forward movement 
brought us into a position for the employment of our 
guns, and on Monday ensued that sharp artillery con- 
flict in which the brave and accomplished Sedgwick 



IN THE WILDERNESS. 233 

tell in his ramparts, while personally engaged in the 
location of his cannon. 

The ensuing Tuesday, May 10th, witnessed a ter- 
rific battle. Our troops were still advancing, driving 
the enemy before them, turning their flanks at every 
point, and convincing them, if they needed any con- 
victions on that subject, that one patriot was at least 
equal to one traitor. The old and idle boast that the 
South could whip us, at the rate of one man to our 
four, faded away in those sanguinary fields of Vir- 
ginia, like the dissolving views of an illusory pic- 
ture. Never was a man more taken by surprise than 
Lee. He found to his severe cost that 

" The best laid schemes o' mice and men 
Gang aft a-gley." 

He schemed for the massing of his legions on our 
weak points; hoping, with his infuriate charges, to 
break our lines, and sweep everything before him. 
But he found Grant fully prepared for him, on all 
hands. That brave General and consummate strate- 
gist was ready to meet mass with mass, strategy with 
strategy, battle with battle, until, outflanked and out- 
generalled, the wily Lee was forced sullenly to 
retreat. 

Hancock, on the extreme right wing, was in exactly 
the position to guard against every cunning device 
20* 



234 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

of the enemy ; and, by his coolness, watchfulness, and 
courage, to prevent every attack on the flank that 
Lee might attempt. This was one of the favorite 
movements of the vigorous Southern strategist, and 
one upon which he often relied to compensate for 
any deficiency of numbers in his own ranks ; but he 
here met his match, for Hancock checked him in 
several hard-fought battles at these points, and, in 
every instance, had the pleasure to join with his com- 
patriots, "Warren and Burnside, in compelling the 
daring soldier to fall back still further to the rear. 

On Thursday, the 12th of May, he made that splen- 
did dash, which resulted in the capture of an entire 
division of the enemy, four thousand strong, two 
Major-Generals, a large number of colors, and thirty 
cannon. 

It was on this occasion that a personal interview 
took place between Hancock and the captive Major- 
Generals George H. Stuart and Ed. Johnson, in the 
tent of the conqueror. The gentlemen had known 
each other in former years. They had been cadets 
together at West Point, and fellow officers in the 
Army of the United States. 

As both the prisoner-Generals entered the tent of 
Hancock, the following dialogue ensued : 



INTERVIEW WITH GENERALS. 235 

Hancock. — "Ah! Johnson! Is it yon? Let ns 
shake hands." 

Johnson. — " Hancock ! this is dreadful." Accept- 
ing the hand so courteously proffered him, he burst 
into tears, and added : 

"I should have much preferred death to captivity." 

Hancock. — " I sympathize with you, Johnson ; but 
such, you know, is sometimes the fortune of war. 
You have fought well, and have no reason to feel 
personally disgraced. It might have been my lot to 
be your prisoner." 

Johnson. — " I know that ; but to be taken in such 
a wholesale manner is hard to bear. It is rough." 

Hancock. — " You know you will be treated like a 
gentleman, Johnson ; and held under the laws of war, 
with which you are familiar." 

During this conversation Stuart was moving nerv- 
ously around, his countenance the picture of dejection 
and chagrin. 

Hancock, who had sought to speak with him be- 
fore, now approached him, with his hand extended. 

Hancock. — "How are you, Stuart?" 

Stuart. — "I am General Stuart, sir! of the Army 
of the Confederate States." 

Hancock. — " I am well aware of that, General ; but 



236 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

I think I can venture to address you as an acquaint- 
ance of other days." 

Stuart. — "Under present circumstances, sir, I de- 
cline to take your hand." 

Hancock. — ! very well, sir ! you can suit yourself 
in that matter ; and, as my prisoner, you will certainly 
suit me. 

Under any other circumstances, sir, I should not 
have offered you my hand !" 

The chop-fallen look of Stuart at this instant can 
be better imagined than described. Whatever his 
feelings may have been under the courteous rebuke, 
all who witnessed it felt that Hancock was as cutting 
with the edge of his satire as he is with that of his 
victorious sword. He had beaten his prisoner with 
valor in the field, and he now conquered him again 
with gentlemanly bearing. 

It was with an increased relish for his patriotic 
duties in the field that, after this interview, Hancock 
resumed his position in the ensuing fight. All day 
Thursday, and from sundown until near daylight of 
Friday morning, he was in action. He shared in the 
contest for a long line of rebel rifle-pits, in front, 
which he had the satisfaction of seeing wrested from 
the hands of the enemy. 

The signal victories won in the Wilderness are 



IN CONCERT WITH THE CAVALRY. 237 

largely attributable to the cavalry arm of the service. 
Although an infantry officer by position, Hancock 
had repeatedly tested, in the vigorous practice at West 
Point, and in several of the fields of action in which 
he had engaged, the efficiency of this arm, especially 
in great strategic movements. He was much indebted 
to it for his commanding positions at the front. By 
their rapid evolutions in the face of the enemy, by 
dashing along by-paths and through forests and jun- 
gles, not accessible to infantry or artillery, they pre- 
pared the way for those steady advances and vigorous 
assaults that have rendered the Union armies so famous 
in the annals of American military history. 

Nor this alone. Our cavalry have not only con- 
tributed largely to every success, by concerted action, 
but they have made numerous independent move- 
ments — especially in the vicinity of Eichmond, and 
in the brilliant campaign in the Yalley of the' She- 
nandoah, in 1864 under that splendid cavalry officer, 
General Philip Shekidan — that have won them im- 
perishable honor. 

Cheers for the Union cavalry ! 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

General Hancock in the Advanced Front in Spottsylvania — Another 
Glorious Charge and Another Brilliant Victory to add to his Noble 
Record. 

ON the 18th of May, 1864, the order came from 
the Lieutenant-General, through his efficient 
associate in command, General Meade, for the entire 
line of battle to be advanced to Spottsylvania Court 
House, Virginia. 

At this important strategic point the enemy had 
thrown up strong entrenchments. Here Lee waited 
in grim determination a direct attack on his front. 
"We shall see, as we progress, that he was doomed to 
meet now one of the first of the series of those bitter 
disappointments that mark his last luckless campaign 
in the Old Dominion His hidden purpose was so to 
entrench himself in the path he supposed we would 
inevitably take, so to lie in ambush behind embank- 
ments that could not be enfiladed, that, when our men 

(238) 



AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 239 

were thrown against his impregnable works, we 
should be so decimated before his secreted and pro- 
tected cannon and rifles, that we should be driven 
back, defeated, from exhaustion of strength. Vain 
and impotent conclusion ! He had not calculated on 
the stern valor, on the persistent energy, on the skil- 
ful and well -practiced strategy now in the field for 
that glorious Union of States he was so daringly 
aiming to destroy. He had forgotten, apparently, 
what, of all other men, he, from his long practice, 
should have remembered, that powerful flank move- 
ments constitute a game of war, at which at least two 
accomplished commanders can play. 

Grant immediately determined, as he approached 
Spottsylvania, to turn the right of Lee, attack him in 
the rear, and thus force his further retreat upon his 
final base, Richmond. 

The fighting on Thursday and Friday of this week 
was very severe. The lines of Hancock, being then 
far in the front, were repeatedly attacked by the 
enemy, and as often repulsed. The division of his 
Corps commanded by General Seymour was exposed 
to a heavy fire, and suffered considerably. But the 
enemy were handled with still greater severity, and 
again compelled to retreat, leaving their dead and 
wounded in our hands. The iron old Second Corps 



240 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

nobly stood its ground, at every point, under the im- 
mediate lead of Hancock, who was vigilant and 
active, as usual, in all parts of the field. He was 
again wounded in this action, but kept his position 
at the post of duty. 

On Saturday the Second Corps again advanced 
beyond the Wilderness Tavern, and formed line of 
battle against the enemy at Spottsylvania Court 
House. At daylight he passed through this strategic 
point, and found the enemy entrenched a short dis- 
tance beyond. Heavy skirmishing was immediately 
commenced, and by Sunday morning the whole army 
of Grant was in vigorous pursuit of Lee. The proof 
that we held the field was shown in the fact that we 
now occupied Fredericksburg as a depot for our 
wounded, and a base of supplies. Our headquarters 
at the noon of Sunday were twenty miles south of 
the previous battle-field. 

The stand made by Lee in the vicinity of Spottsyl- 
vania was a strong one. But he was not permitted 
to hold it long. Sedgwick, Wadsworth, and other 
brave soldiers, had fallen ; but our army of kindred 
heroes pushed gallantly on, compelling Lee to retreat 
to the banks of the North Anna river. 

At this point another severe battle was fought. 
The right of the enemy was crushed. Three brigades 



AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 241 

and four guns were captured. Hancock crossed the 
River Po ; under a tremendous enfilading fire, driv- 
ing the enemy before him, and establishing himself 
on the south bank. The possession of Spottsylvania, 
after a hotly contested fight, carried us out of the 
Wilderness ; although, in retreating, in consequence 
of their greater familiarity with the broken and wild 
country, the enemy had the advantage of us. By 
the necessities of the position, we could not drive on 
as fast as the foe could be driven. Hancock, holding 
the extreme right of our line, took possession of the 
Block-House road, and thus prepared the way for the 
continued advance of the main army. Breastworks 
were thrown up by his men, and every disposition 
made for any attack the enemy might make. But 
they prudently abstained from all assaults at this 
point. One after another their wild yells died away ; 
and it soon became evident that sullenness and des- 
pondency reigned among them. Hancock had added 
another line to his entrenchments in the open ground 
contiguous to Todd's Tavern, a portion of his heavy 
artillery working all night to accomplish the feat. 
The sight of these brave cannoniers thus at work for 
their country is described by one who witnessed it 
as extremely picturesque. The lanterns of the armed 
workmen hung in festoons from the wild cherry trees, 
21 Q 



242 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

flashing their lights among the May blossoms of the 
branches. The batteries were harnessed up among 
the patriot diggers, who laid aside their pickaxes and 
spades occasionally to look to their guns and bayonets. 
Thus passed the watchful night of war. As the sun 
rose scouts reported the enemy still in front, but in 
small force; and at noon Hancock had again ad- 
vanced and taken possession of his new field. 

A light-horse battery of the enemy, on the ap- 
proach of our troops at a brisk charge, quickly 
limbered up, and posted off in hot haste. It was well 
for them that they did. A lively engagement ensued, 
during which the enemy made the best use in their 
power of a secreted position they held in an adjacent 
wood. They dared not meet us there in the open 
field. Some of them who ventured out were taken 
prisoners, and in other parts of the battle ground 
considerable supplies and munitions of war were 
captured. 

The marching of Hancock to form a junction with 
Sedgwick and Warren had been well done. He 
moved in line of battle by the left flank to mass, 
fighting every foot of the way against an entrenched 
enemy, who was determined, at all hazards, to pre- 
vent the strategic movement of our General. Every 
position that he took he obstinately held, completely 



AT SPOTfSYLVANIA. 243 

foiling the enemy, and effecting his junction at the 
desired time and designated place. The great object 
was attained by the exertion of his utmost skill and 
vigor. The part he had to perform was realized by 
him, and all, to be a severe one ; but ably, bravely, 
successfully he performed it. He took the whole line 
of rifle pits at a most critical moment, and five stands 
of colors. It is admitted that his heroism and skill 
in these preliminary engagements did much toward 
saving our army. 

By his passage of the Po Hancock secured a 
coigne of vantage over the enemy. He enfiladed 
the entire position, commanding their roads, on 
which their trains were passing. It was a bold 
move, but like the dashing character he had so nobly 
won. His two divisions thrown over the river con- 
nected with the right of Warren. By this junction 
the enemy were driven from their coverts in the 
woods, where we had been exposed to some damage 
from their shells. A general attack followed along 
the entire line, continuing for several hours. The 
enemy could not withstand our charge, but fell back 
in confusion, leaving a large number of killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, on the field. 

Early in the morning of the 12th of May, fighting 
was resumed by Hancock. In one of his brilliant 



244 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

charges, for which he has become so justly famous, 
he dashed on the division of Hill, planted in its en- 
trenchments, five miles below Spottsylvania Court 
House. At the head of his gallant Corps, fired with 
the energy peculiar to him, he charged on the foe at 
the double quick. His appearance on this occasion 
is described as the impersonation of the heroism of 
war. Cheering his men as he placed himself at their 
head, receiving their cheers in return with the wav- 
ing of his sword, he gave the word " Charge !" with 
a shout that rang along the lines like the clangor 
of a trumpet. The steady columns swept onward at 
that familiar word, and followed their great com- 
mander into the very centre of the breaking lines of 
the enemy. They wavered, staggered, fell back, step 
by step ; then broke into a confused mass, and fled 
in all directions. Colors struck the ground, horses 
tumbled headlong in the wreck, shattered cannon 
ploughed the reeking earth, bayonets crossed in wild, 
discordant clatter, heaps of confused bodies strewed 
the crimson grass on every side* while over all, 
louder than the roar of guns, amid the advancing 
standards of the Union, all unfurled and flapping in 
the smoky air, rose on high the shout — " Victory I" 
"Victory I" 

As our- columns dashed over the field, Hancock 



A T SPOTTSYL VAN1A. 245 

still at their head, the prisoners and trophies of war 
were gathered around him. They numbered three 
thousand men, — among whom were one Major Gene- 
ral, two Brigadier Generals, fifty officers, and twelve 
pieces of artillery. 

The result of the battle was a flag of truce from 
Lee, and the capture of despatches, in which he con- 
fessed that he was short of supplies. It was evident 
that he must fall back on Kichmond, as his final base. 

The valor of Hancock in this splendid engage- 
ment has been well characterised as sublime. He 
placed himself at the head of his entire Corps ; every 
division, every brigade, every regiment, being under 
his eagle eye. His orders were his own, from first 
to last. Every movement was his, from the begin- 
ning to the close of the fight. His presence was 
seen, heard, and felt, in all parts of the field ; until 
the enthusiasm of his men, as they rushed eagerly 
on the enemies of their land, knew no bounds. His 
associates in command rallied around him with a 
readiness that never wavered, a skill that never failed, 
a courage that never faltered. The whole mass 
moved together, like a terrific engine of war in the 
grasp of one strong hand, and controlled by the will 
of one gifted mind. What wonder that he achieved 
so glorious a victory ? 

21* 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Lee Falls back before the Advance of the Second Army Corps — Ewell 
and Longstreet Retreat as Hancock nears them — Only Fourteen 
Miles from Richmond — On the Banks of the Pamunkey — A Mid- 
night Assault Repulsed. 

fJ^HE pursuit of the retreating army of Lee was 
I made with as much rapidity as an unfavorable 
change in the roads would permit. Hancock, still 
again in the advance, had accomplished the feat, de- 
scribed in another chapter, which resulted in the cap- 
ture of Major Generals Edward Johnson and George 
H. Stuart, and a large portion of their commands. 

The fatigue of our army was great, and the line 
of march was much impeded by a fall of rain of 
thirty-six hours' duration. The glorious success of 
Hancock had inspired all hearts, and the resolution 
to achieve new victories over the galled and retreat- 
ing rebels was instantly formed. As the rain ceased 
and the sun broke forth on the day that witnessed 

(24(i) 



ACROSS THE RIVER PO. 247 

the close of the last splendid achievements of the 
Wilderness, the order to advance again was obeyed 
with alacrity. Our men were in high spirits, and 
impatient to meet the foe in any field he might 
choose. 

The characteristic despatch of Hancock to Lieu- 
tenant General Grant, includes, in a few words, the 
progress thus far made : 

"Headquarters Second Corps, May 12th, '64. 
"General: I have captured from thirty to forty guns. I have 
finished up Johnson, and am now going into Early. 

W. S. Hancock." 

Thirteen of the captured guns were brought to 
General Grant's headquarters. The remainder were 
placed at different points in our rear. 

At daylight of the morning of this attack the 
brigade of General Barlow, of Hancock's Corps, 
appeared like a war apparition before the enemy. 
They had advanced and steadily driven the enemy; 
and, before they were aware of it, had reached their 
entrenchments, directly in front. With a dash they 
charged on the works, swept over them, and, before 
their foes bad time to fire a gun, captured the whole 
command. The enemy were compelled to surrender 
by the butts of the muskets in the hands of our 
brave men. 



248 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

By another advance of Hancock, on the 15th of 
May, the fact was developed that Lee had fallen back 
four miles. The charge of General Bieney's divi- 
sion, of the Second Corps, which aided materially to 
produce this auspicious result, was one of the most 
splendid of any made during the war. Every regi- 
ment in his command covered itself with honor. 
Kebels were surprised in their strongholds in the 
woods, and several stands of colors captured from 
them. 

The two armies were now on the main road leading 
from Fredericksburg to Eichmond, but the condition 
of travelling rendered it impossible to make any 
movement to advantage. Keinfor cements continued 
to arrive, and the most confident expectations of final 
success were felt and expressed on the Union side. 
The position of Lee was still strong, and the state of 
the weather was much in his favor. But the indom- 
itable Geant was determined to pursue him. Eest 
and recruiting were needed by our troops. 

Our advance, under Hancock, possessed one of the 
strongest keys of the whole hostile position, and the 
most desperate efforts were made by them to regain 
it ; but all in vain. He proved himself as tenacious 
in holding his point as he was clashing in winning it. 
No language can describe the desperate energy with 



STILL ADVANCING. 249 

which his troops had carried the day. Barlow, 
Birney, Gibbon, Mott, and others, had won the 
highest distinction on this field ; and the men they 
commanded were entitled to bear with them their 
imperishable laurels. The breastworks captured in 
this advance were very strong; the ditches in front 
were deep and wide ; and the enemy defended their 
position as if they held it to be impregnable. It was 
reserved for Hancock to undeceive them. 

Several important reconnoissances followed, and 
preparations were made for another general advance. 

On the 18th of May the roads had considerably 
improved, and active operations were immediately 
resumed. Large reinforcements had reached the 
Union army, and the spirits of the men continued 
elastic. Skirmishing began by Birney's division, 
of Hancock's Corps, shell being thrown in the con- 
tiguous woods to feel the position of the enemy. 

Early in the morning of this day Hancock made 
another of his brilliant charges, with the most bene- 
ficial results. His attack was begun from our 
right wing, and was prosecuted with such vigor 
that the enemy were forced back a considerable 
distance. He carried their line of entrenchments, 
and all attempts to dislodge him proved utterly fu- 
tile. Our lines continued steadily to advance. Lee 



250 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

was again taken entirely by surprise. He had not 
anticipated and was evidently not prepared for these 
repeated and powerful assaults on his flanks. While 
our feints in front with artillery completely deceived 
him, he found us more than a match for him in the 
strategy of flanking, and was again compelled to 
withdraw. Hancock had advanced successfully upon 
him, turned his left flank, driven his sharp-shooters 
out of their rifle-pits, captured fifteen guns, and a 
large body of prisoners. 

Not long after this successful assault, the enemy 
attempted to turn our right. But they were promptly 
met by the Heavy Artillery, under that brave and 
energetic officer, General Tyler, who was ably sup- 
ported by the division of General Birney, of the 
Second Corps, and handsomely repulsed. Although 
these troops of Tyler were just arrived on the field, 
from garrison duty at Washington, and had never 
been under fire before, they conducted themselves 
with so much steadiness, managed their guns with 
such skill, and were handled in so admirable a man- 
ner by their General, that they kept the enem}^ at 
bay until the reinforcements of Birney and Craw- 
ford arrived, and joined with them to drive the 
enemy from the field. 

At half-past eleven o'clock in the night of Friday, 



STILL ADVANCING. 251 

May 20th ; Hancock again rapidly advanced, in pur- 
suit of a portion of the enemy in command of Long- 
street, one of his former fellow lieutenants in the 
Army of the United States. His pursuit was as 
rapid as the condition of the roads would permit, and 
soon developed the fact that the enemy had retreated 
beyond the North Anna river. Hancock, on the 
extreme left, had driven them from the entrenchments 
they occupied previous to this advance. The Second 
Corps, under cover of night, had bivouacked within 
the breastworks from which they had previously 
captured their prisoners. The veterans had used 
their bayonets with such effect that the field of their 
march was like a review. They were again in the 
vanguard, with Hancock at their head. Marching 
on the road parallel with the river Ny, the troops 
continued to advance southward, still pursuing the 
retreating foe. By daylight of the 21st they reached 
Guinea's Station, on the Fredericksburg and Eich- 
mond railroad ; from thence pushing onward, until 
by nightfall the head of the column had reached 
Bowling Green. 

The effect of this movement was to turn the right 
flank of Lee, and compel him to retreat still again, 
to find his hiding places on the banks of the South 
Anna. 



252 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

At the position attacked by Hancock the enemy 
had thrown up strong entrenchments. They were in 
considerable force at the point where he had crossed, 
and made a determined resistance. But his pertina- 
cious courage and skill overcame them, and they 
were compelled to flee. Before dark of the day of 
his attack he had forced them out of their works, and 
driven them across the stream. 

Warren and Burnside were on the same line 
with Hancock, and their two Corps, the Fifth and 
Ninth, won equal distinctions with the Second, on 
that gallant onward march into the heart of the 
enemy's country. 

The divisions of Barlow, Birney and Gibbon, in 
the Second Corps, were close on the heels of the flee- 
ing enemy at the North Anna. Skirmishing began 
on the front of Birney's division, and soon became 
general along tne entire line. At this point Han- 
cock ordered Birney to charge the enemy. It was 
done, in most splendid style. • The works were car- 
ried, the bridge taken, the enemy driven in confusion, 
and our guns placed so as to command the position. 

The gallant conduct of that division on this occa- 
sion drew forth warm praises from General Hancock. 
He complimented it on the field in the most cordial 



STILL ADVANCING. 253 

manner, and was himself received with enthusiastic 
cheers by the troops. 

Over a thousand prisoners were captured by this 
combined advance. 

The position now assumed by Lee was one of the 
strongest he could obtain. He had not yet crossed 
the South Anna, but was entrenched between that 
and the North Anna. But he soon found the differ- 
ence between his stand here, in these comparatively 
low and open lands of Virginia, and that he had 
made on the heights of Fredericksburg. He could 
no longer hide himself to advantage, but was com- 
pelled to the onset of a fair field. 

At this point he concentrated all his available 
lorce, and was evidently prepared for a stubborn 
defence. 

Geant, on the other hand, was by no means idle. 
It is well known that it is not his nature to be, on all 
su«h occasions. He gathered his army more closely 
in hand, adding to his regular force the independent 
command of General Buenside, known as the Ninth 
Corps. As the Lieutenant General, in supreme com- 
mand of the field, he had made his dispositions with 
Sheeman, Butlee, Canby, Huntee, Sheeidan, and 
others, and was now prepared for such an advance 
as would be sure to intercept the retreat of Lee. 

22 



254 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

From their base in the vicinity of the Kapidan, 
the enemy had been driven a distance of over fifty 
miles. Through all this long march of pursuit the 
Union army had fought its way in triumph. At 
every point the commanders had vied with each other 
in the meritorious discharge of their high duties. 
Our province is to speak, especially, of Hancock ; 
but in depicting his valiant deeds we are not to be 
understood as undervaluing those of other equally 
brave men. We should be happy to describe them, 
too, did the limits of our volume allow us. 

It is the position of Hancock at the front, in this 
memorable and triumphant march, and the signal 
manner in which he discharged the high responsi- 
bilities laid upon him, that demand the narration of 
his heroic deeds; that make the task of recording 
them so agreeable, and that cause the lesson taught 
by this part of his life to be so instructive. 

The advance of the Second Corps, under Hancock, 
was one of the signals of the retreat of that part of 
the enemy immediately on his front. Ewell and 
Longstreet, who were in that position, had heard 
from him before, at Gettysburg. When he moved, 
therefore, both these distinguished Confederates with- 
drew. 

At the passage of the North Anna, while the Corps 



STILL ADVANCING. . 255 

of "Warren crossed with but little opposition, that 
of Hancock encountered a severe fight. He met 
the enemy at Chesterfield bridge, where strong works 
had been thrown up, in a commanding position. 
These had all to be carried, and then the obstacle of 
an intervening creek overcome, ere he could plant 
his colors on the opposite bank. Gorges and ditches 
were immediately on his front ; rifle pits and frown- 
ing embankments beyond. 

For the conquest of these difficult points the 
division of General Birney was detailed ; and nobly 
did he perform the task assigned him. With Gib- 
bon on his left, Barlow on his right, and supported 
in the rear by Tyler's splendid Heavy Artillery, he 
marched to the attack. The open space in front was 
swept over by his men at double quick, under a ter- 
rific fire of infantry and artillery ; they reached the 
redans without a pause, and drove out the enemy at 
the point of the bayonet. 

The enemy were thunderstruck at this unexpected 
and rapid movement, and large bodies of them fled 
headlong in dismay. The whole Corps of Hancock 
immediately massed, and held the head of the bridge 
until the time came for a still further advance, and 
preparations were completed for the capture of the 
rifle-pits and entrenchments in front. 



256 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Grant immediately executed another flank move- 
ment. The position of Lee was such that to attack 
his front, at a disadvantage, would cause an unneces- 
sary loss of life, while, by flanking him, he could 
compel his further retreat. The movement by flank 
was executed with such skill, secrecy, and rapidity, 
that it was all accomplished before Lee was aware 
that Grant had thought of it. The South Anna, 
with all its grim array of embankments, its rifle pits, 
its hidden ambuscades, was left to frown in its soli- 
tary neglect, while the victorious army of the Union 
marched steadily on. By Sunday, the 29th of May, 
it had swung around its base, and on the morning 
of Monday, the 30th, occupied a new field, in the 
region of the Pamunkey river. 

This was a most disagreeable surprise to Lee. He 
had calculated on our throwing ourselves, over broken 
plains, and through miry morasses, on his strong 
earthworks, which he had taken the trouble to build 
directly in the way ■ he desired us to take. How 
could the Lieutenant General, the stubborn Grant, 
be so very disobliging? How dare he take the 
liberty thus to move his army about at will, over the 
sacred soil of Virginia ? Why did he not consent 
to be led, as a sheep to the slaughter, in the com- 
modious pens he had been so kind as to construct on 



STILL ADVANCING. 257 

the convenient banks of the South Anna ? Was it 
chivalrous in him to flank off from his proud and 
valiant foe in this secret manner ? Clearly not. The 
whole thing was wrong. The movement was all 
(disgraceful, cowardly, mean. It was not according 
to Hoyle. 

Be all this as it may, Grant did it ; and most 
nobly did his great and gallant army sustain him in 
doing it. 

On the morning of the 27th of May, at the early 
hour of four o'clock, the whole command had been 
set in motion, the glorious old Second Corps still in 
the advance. The march was made with a celerity 
on the part of the men that showed their hearts were 
in the work before them. Lee was outgeneralled 
on his own chosen ground. Our troops struck off in 
a new direction, passing through a region not before 
trodden by the feet of contending armies, during this 
war for the Union, in which they found the most 
abundant supplies of provisions, cattle, and horses. 

By the evening of May 30th, the whole army was 
safely across the Pamunkey, the head of the column 
being within four hours of the Confederate capital. 
The movement was the most astonishing to Lee of 
any Grant had yet made. On the first of June we 
occupied a front of three miles on the South bank 
22* r 



258 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

of the river, having had several cavalry engage- 
ments with the enemy in that vicinity, in all of which 
we drove them. 

Fighting was resumed on the Mechanicsville road > 
sonth of Totopatamoy creek, and between that 
stream and Hawes's Shop. The bridges over the 
Little Eiver and the South Anna were destroj^ed by 
our cavalry, under Wilson, and the Union head- 
quarters established in the place long before selected 
by the Lieutenant General. 

General Hancock made his attack on the lines of 
the enemy the moment he received the order. It was 
toward evening of the 30th of May, and the darkness 
soon set in. But he pressed on to the front, assailed 
the new works the enemy had thrown up, and carried 
them by assault. When the morning broke over the 
field, the Union colors were seen floating from the 
conquered ramparts. This was a strongly entrenched 
skirmish line of the enemy, and held by Hancock 
in the face of a deadly fire. The distance from that 
point to Kichmond was but fourteen miles. 

On the night of the 31st of May, a desperate as- 
sault was made on the lines of Hancock. The sud- 
denness of the movement which brought him to the 
banks of the Pamunkey, would not allow him to en- 
trench as much as was desirable. But he was pre- 



STILL ADVANCING. 259 

pared for the furious onslaught, though it came on 
him suddenly and in darkness. 

His brave hosts were rallied with a celerity and 
skill that proved the soldierly qualities of the Gene- 
ral, and the enemy everywhere repulsed. They made 
not the slightest trifle by their midnight motion. On 
the contrary, it put our men more completely on the 
alert, led to reinforcements at all weak points, and 
made us more than ever masters of the field. 

The fight was sharp ; but so signal a victory to us 
that it not only drove off the enemy discomfited, but 
left several hundred prisoners in our hands. He 
continued to hold the rifle-pits from which he had 
driven the enemy the previous evening, and was pre- 
pared to defend his position at all points. Our whole 
line was immediately advanced along his front, and 
by daylight the army was so massed at that position 
as to resist successfully every attack. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

On the Banks of the Famous Chichahominy — Capture of the Ford 
at Taylor s Bridge — Cold Harbor, Bottom's Bridge, and the 
James River — " On to Richmond." 

LEE was now on the north bank of the historic 
Chickahominy. This little stream, which occu- 
pies so prominent a place in American military an- 
nals, is located in the south-eastern part of Virginia. 
It rises in the county of Hanover, and falls into the 
York river, about eight miles above Jamestown — 
one of the oldest English settlements in America. 
It divides Henrico and Charles City counties on the 
right, from Hanover, New Kent and James City 
counties on the left. It has to be approached and 
crossed by armies reaching Eichmond from the direc- 
tion taken by the army of Grajst. It is capable of 
being strongly defended, and is remarkable for the 

several sanguinary engagements that took place in 

(260) 



ON THE CHICKAH0M1NY. 261 

its vicinity between the Union and rebel armies 
during the years 1861, '62 and '64. 

Our line of battle had now been formed on a 
radius within a few miles of Richmond. Lee, with- 
out waiting for our renewed attacks, had stealthily 
retreated before our advancing legions. The capture 
of the ford at Taylor's Bridge by Hancock had en- 
abled us to stretch our columns above and beyond 
the strategic point at Sexton's Junction. In moving 
on the Virginia Central railroad, he had been furi- 
ously attacked by Lee, and severely repulsed him. 
The conduct of the Fifth Corps, under Warren, at 
this place, had been complimented by General Meade, 
and that of the division of Birney had received 
similar encomiums from Hancock. The arrival of 
Burnside and Wright — the latter now command- 
ing the Corps of noble old Sedgwick — had brought 
large reinforcements, and the ground taken from the 
enemy was firmly held. By repeated assaults the 
enemy attempted to retake the bridge from Hancock, 
but they were foiled and driven back on every occa- 
sion. Constant fighting and skirmishing had been 
continued by the Second and Ninth Corps, the head- 
quarters being located at Jericho Mills. 

From these points began another of those high 
strategic movements for which the Lieutenant General 



262 WINF1ELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

is so deservedly famous. Swiftly and silently he 
withdraws, under the feint of an attack on the Vir- 
ginia Central, from before the strong entrenchments 
of Lee, and moves directly in a contrary manner from 
what the enemy expected. The Confederate comman- 
der was again utterly deceived. Our troops rapidly 
crossed the Pamunkey, swept on through Hanover- 
town, at a distance of only fifteen miles from Eichmond, 
and very soon reached the strong strategic point and 
convenient base of supplies, at White House. 

The fights on Totopatomoy creek had all resulted 
in our favor. The enemy were forced back at every 
point, and our whole army was soon in its chosen 
position. 

Lee was again on the Chickahominy. It had be- 
come, once more, his line of battle. He hoped, in 
maintaining it, to drive and keep our whole force in 
the unhealthy swamps beyond, where all our mili- 
tary movements would have to be made under the 
greatest disadvantages. But the strategy of Geant 
was fully equal to the emergency. By his rapid 
flankings he had moved just where he wanted to go, 
avoiding all battles which he would have fought at a 
disadvantage, saving the lives of his men, keepiug 
up their spirits by continued advances, and outgene- 
raling and mystifying the enemy. 



TOWARD THE JAMES. 263 

The battles of Cold Harbor and Bottom's Bridge, 
which preceded our victorious approach to the James 
Kiver, had been sanguinary in their character ; but 
they were short and successful. 

The attack at Cold Harbor was made at five o'clock 
in the afternoon of the 1st of June. The Second 
Corps, under Hancock, was in position to resist any 
sudden assault that might be made on our rear. The 
gallant Sixth Corps led the van, assisted by Smith, 
Warren, Burnside and Hancock. It was in all 
respects a brilliant affair. The battle continued until 
after dark, and resulted in our carrying the enemy's 
works at all points. Kepeated attempts were made 
by bold strokes to retake them, but in vain. In 
every instance they were repulsed, with heavy loss 
on their side. Several hundred of them were cap- 
tured during the night, and other injuries inflicted 
on Lee that were evidently severely felt. 

"We were now approaching the centre stronghold 
more closely than ever, and the resistance of the enemy 
was every hour becoming more fierce and more deter- 
mined. The hostile front was formed on our line only 
five miles distant from Eichmond. The thunder of the 
guns could now be heard, as they never had been heard 
before, in the ears of the Confederated troops. Gaines' 
Mills, Mechanicsville, Fair Oaks, and other spots near 



264 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

Eichmond, made memorable in history by the con- 
flicts there of the Union forces with their foes, 
clustered around, and by their battle memories 
aroused anew the enthusiasm of our ranks. All the 
enemies' works constructed at various intersecting 
points had been rendered useless by the strategy of 
Grant, and the approaches of Lee to Eichmond were 
seriously endangered. 

The Southern commander was still strong, still wily, 
still courageous; but his forces had been fearfully 
decimated, even when assailed by us behind his en- 
trenchments, and his communications with other parts 
of the Confederate lines were daily and hourly growing 

" Small, by degrees, and beautifully less." 

The enemy vainly and boastfully asserted that 
Grant had declined the gage of battle. But he had 
done nothing of the kind. He was always ready for 
battle, and always delivered it, when he thought 
proper. He did not, however, deem it wise to fight 
on the ground chosen by the enemy, when he could 
fight so much better on ground chosen by himself. 
The truth is, his strategy, skill, and generalship were 
too much for General Lee, however reluctant sympa- 
thizing publicists in every section were then, and for 
long after, to admit it. 

Grant started from Washington to reach the 



TOWARD THE JAMES. 265 

James River, in his own way. He had marked out 
his line of battle to suit himself, not the enemy; 
and, as he naively expressed it in his famous dispatch 
to the Secretary of War, he was determined to "fight 
it out on this line, if it should take all summer." 

The enemy had expended a prodigious amount of 
labor — the most of it performed by the unpaid hands 
of their slaves — in erecting strong fortifications, re- 
newing the ambuscades of old Manassas, Bull Run, 
and Ball's Bluff, all along the line which they were 
extremely desirous to have Grant adopt and pursue. 
But he, obstinate man ! deliberately insisted in flank- 
ing these formidable works, passing by and beyond 
them, and leaving them as useless lumber on the 
deserted field. It was a very inconvenient, disagree- 
able and damaging operation for the enemy. But 
alas! for them. There was no way in which they 
could prevent it. 

The water-base of the Union army being opened 
at White House, near the James, the hostile embank- 
ments outflanked and rendered harmless, a long and 
unhealthy campaign on the Chickahominy being 
avoided, the conquest of Richmond now became an 
object of pursuit from another point of strategy. 
We shall see how successfully that conquest is finally 

accomplished. 
23 



266 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

On Monday, the 31st of May, our line extended 
from the Pamunkey, immediately in front of Han- 
over Court House, to beyond Totopatomoy creek. A 
strong assault was made by the enemy in the evening 
of this day, in which Hancock was called into action. 
He commenced by a diversion upon the foe with a 
heavy cannonade, that lasted for a number of hours, 
the position of the enemy being assailed by several 
batteries, and six Cohorn mortars. Hancock's Corps 
occupied the right centre, Weight, the worthy suc- 
cessor of Sedgwick, holding the extreme right, 
Warren the left centre, and Burnside the extreme 
left. In this position the attack was made by Bir- 
ney, under Hancock, and well sustained. Birney 
advanced on the right, Barlow on the centre. The 
first line of the enemy was carried by a brilliant 
charge, in which a considerable number of prisoners 
were captured from the command of Breckinridge. 

Thus the Union forces fought their way to the 
banks of the James, and the contiguous region. 
Kichmond was to be approached through its out- 
posts. Whether it was to be conquered by a direct 
assault, or reduced by a continued siege, was yet to 
be determined. 

A severe assault was made on our lines on the 
evening of Friday, the 3d of June. The troops first 



TOWARD TEE JAMES. 267 

attacked were those of Smith's brigade, Gibbon's 
division, Hancock's Corps. It was a sharp attack, 
and began with the customary horrid yells. The 
battle raged with great fury for some time ; but the 
enemy were gallantly repulsed, and prevented for 
that day from trying their assault again. They were 
driven back still further, their entrenchments occu- 
pied, and lost over three hundred prisoners, beside 
many killed and wounded. 

The Heavy Artillery of Hancock, under Tyler, 
rendered signal service on this occasion. The latter 
General was severely wounded. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Hancock's Siege- Lines Closing in on the Confederate Capital — Han- 
cock Carries Bottoms Bridge at the Point of the Bayonet — The 
Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair Presents a Sword to General 
Hancock. 

IN reviewing the battles leading from the Potomac 
to the James, from Washington to Richmond, in 
which General Hancock took so active a part, we 
continue to find mnch to admire in his character as 
a soldier. These battles constitute a series of engage- 
ments, among the most sanguinary of any on record. 
The purpose to advance on the part of the patriot 
army was fixed and unyielding. The purpose to 
resist was the same on the part of the enemy. Nothing 
carried the day for us and secured our steady progress 
toward our noble object, the suppression of armed 
rebellion, but the courage and endurance of the 
Union armies under Grant, co-operated with at other 
points by the distinguished Generals Sherman, in 
Georgia, Sheridan, in the Valley of the Shenandoah, 

(268) 



IN THE CHICKAHOMINY BATTLES. 269 

and the equally distinguished Admiral Farragut, 
on the Atlantic coast. 

Our space will not allow us to review in detail 
all the battles in which Hancock occupied so promi- 
nent a position. We can only follow him as he ad- 
vances with the main army, and incidentally describe 
such scenes in which he was an actor, as come under 
view in our limited pages. 

One of the features of his career in this campaign 
that cannot fail to attract attention, is the promptness 
with which he always moved. When he received an 
order, for instance, to move on a given line at thirty 
minutes past four o'clock in the morning, at thirty- 
one minutes past that hour he was in motion. There 
was no delay — not even that of a moment. His 
attacks and conquests were of a similar character. 
Sometimes in thirty minutes from the time he moved, 
he had fought and won the field. His men were so 
accustomed to his rapid movements that lines of bat- 
tle six miles in length responded to his calls, as if 
formed immediately around him. Here is the secret 
of his power as a great General. His lines were 
always well in hand. His power was never scattered. 
In all this promptness of energy, he was perfectly 
responded to by every one of his commanders, who 
richly deserve to share with him the gratitude and 
23* 



270 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

praise of a ransomed country. Special mention is 
due here to Colonel Tompkins, Chief of Artillery in 
the Second Corps, as well as to the cavalry, for their 
invaluable services in securing our continued ad- 
vance. It is not too much to say that the artillery 
practice of the United States army is among the best 
in the world. 

On the 7th of June the advancing siege lines of 
Hancock had materially increased the uneasiness of 
the enemy. They could not understand what he 
meant by continuing to approach so near to their 
front line of battle. It was not necessary to his pur- 
pose that they should. Every attempt they made to 
feel our lines met only with repulse and capture. 
Under cover of the thick fog peculiar to that part 
of the country, they had advanced to within pistol- 
shot range of our works, intending to make a dash 
and surprise us. But our pickets were on the alert. 
A sheet of flame from the entire line of the division 
of the Second Corps commanded by Gibbon drove 
back the invaders in confusion. The fire from our 
ranks enfiladed their progress, and they fell back in 
confusion, leaving many of their number dead and 
wounded on the field. 

The exposure of General Hancock at this point 
was so imminent, that Lieutenant McCune, of his 



IN THE CHICKAHOMINY BATTLES. 271 

staff, had his leg shot off, while standing near the 
General's headquarters. But he held his ground on 
the extreme left of our line, stretching along the road 
leading to Dispatch Station, while the cavalry pickets 
of the dashing Sheridan guarded the banks of the 
Chickahominy. 

It was evidently the firm purpose of the enemy to 
turn the position of Hancock. They opened their 
most furious fire on his lines, keeping up the rattle 
of musketry and roar of artillery with a steadiness 
and perseverance rarely equalled. The attempt was 
clearly made to break the brigade of Smith, in the 
Second Corps, in the hope of penetrating to the main 
army. Delusive hope ! It was doomed to share the 
fate of those that had gone before it. Through all 
the darkness of those hours of the thunder of battle, 
the noble old Second stood to their guns ; and, when 
the morning broke, their gallant lines were intact as 
of yore. 

A change of base was effected for strategic pur- 
poses, from the White House, near the junction of 
the York and Pamunkey rivers, on the 10th of June, 
to Harrison's Landing and other suitable points on 
the James. This object of Grant had thus been 
accomplished. Up to this moment both armies had 
continued to occupy their relative positions. 



272 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

During the night of Saturday, Hancock had made 
a successful attack on the enemy at Bottom's Bridge. 
The cannonading was heavy, and the result auspicious 
to our arms. The Chickahominy was crossed at this 
point, at a distance of only about twelve miles from 
Eichmond, seven miles northeast of Four-Mile creek, 
on the James river. Hancock, after a desperate 
fight, had succeeded in dislodging the enemy, carry- 
ing the bridge at the point of the bayonet. It was 
securely held by his Corps, and the whole army safely 
crossed the stream at that point and at other bridges. 
The Second Corps marched at once to a selected sta- 
tion on the James. 

The whole movement was executed with consum- 
mate skill ; and reflects the highest credit not only 
on the Lieutenant General, but on all concerned. 
Like other strategic plans of this memorable cam- 
paign, it took the Southerners completely by surprise, 
and was all the more effective on that account. The 
bridges generally occupied were those of our own 
pontoons. The rapidity of their preparation, and 
the speed with which so large an army crossed such 
a river in perfect safety, show to advantage the mili- 
tary skill which prevails in the American army. 

By this masterly movement our army was now on 
the banks of the James, on which Richmond is situ- 



ON THE JAMES. 273 

ated, and occupying a strong position at the south of 
that doomed Southern capital. Little or no oppo- 
sition had been made to our crossing. Our cavalry 
had several skirmishes, the result of reconnoissances, 
to feel the positions of the enemy. If they were 
aware of onr proceeding they did not attempt to 
interrupt it. Perhaps it was best for them that they 
did not. 

The post of duty assigned to Hancock was that 
the farthest up the river — the nearest toward the 
Southern capital. At this point he threw out his ad- 
vanced pickets, and proceeded to entrench. All 
around him were signs of the ravages of war ; but 
there were portions of the country still clothed in 
green, and smiling in the sunny rays of June. Some 
fields of grain had not been trodden by the march 
of armed men, horses and trains of artillery, and the 
forests towered up in the distance in all their primeval 
beauty. Nearly all the adult population had been 
ruthlessly conscripted into the insurgent armies, leav- 
ing the houses to be occupied by the old people and 
children ; while the neglected fields told too plainly 
a sad tale of the havoc and neglect that the terrible 
plague of war had poured over them, like a desolat- 
ing tide of fire. 

While thus patriotically occupied in the field of 

S 



274 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

duty, Hancock was not forgotten by his friends at 
home. It is pleasant to turn away from the scenes 
of carnage and suffering that accompany the move- 
ments of armies, and contemplate the grateful pro- 
ceedings of his fellow- citizens in the peaceful walks 
of life. 

At the time he was thus bravely fighting for his 
country, the public Fairs of the United States Sani- 
tary Commission were being held, in different parts 
of the country. This Commission is composed of 
volunteer citizens of the Kepublic, who formed them- 
selves into an association for the purpose of aiding 
the government in caring for our brave soldiers in 
the fields and hospitals, and our equally brave sea- 
men in the navy. They had held several festivals 
and other appropriate gatherings, at which large 
sums of money were raised by the free-will offerings 
of the people, and abundant supplies procured for 
the necessities of our sick and wounded heroes. To 
further this good object, several expedients had been 
resorted to, especially at the instigation of patriotic 
ladies, to swell the fund? of this most commendable 
purpose. Among these the managers of the Mis- 
sissippi Yalley Sanitary Fair adopted the plan of 
presenting a sword to General Hancock. The amount 
necessary to procure this elegant gift was all obtained 



MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 275 

from among volunteer donors, while the act of de- 
ciding the sword to be his, elicited a competition that 
largely swelled the gross receipts for the noble object 
in view. 

The following is the correspondence on this sub- 
ject : 

" Saint Louis, Missouri, June 18th, 1864. 

Major General W. S. b Hancock; 

Sir:— 
It is with great pleasure I announce to you that the handsome 
sword donated to the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, to be voted 
for by those who make donations in voting, has been awarded to 
you ; there having been a large plurality of votes in your favor. 

It is highly gratifying to the people of Saint Louis, who regard 
you as more than half a citizen, that the sword has been awarded 
to you, as an humble but respectful appreciation of your gallant 
and distinguished services in the field. 

That success may continue to attend your noble efforts to crush 
out the rebellion against our country, is my earnest and heart- 
felt prayer. 

You will please indicate the disposition you wish made of the 
sword, which awaits your order. 

Very respectfully and truly yours, 

James E. Yeatman, 
Chairman Executive Committee, Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair.'* 

Reply or General Hancock 
" Headquarters Second Army Corps, June 27, 1864. 
My Dear Sir : — 

Your favor of the 18th instant, informing me that the handsome 
sword donated to the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair has been 
awarded to me, is received. 



276 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Such a mark of consideration, from the citizens of Saint Louis, 
is truly gratifying. Having married in that city, and residing 
there for many years, I regard it as a home. 

Only the soldier can fully appreciate the benefit of your noble 
efforts in behalf of the Sanitary Commission. The eirects of its 
kind offices in ameliorating our wants and sufferings are felt, with 
a grateful remembrance, through every part of our vast army. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. S. Hancock, 
Major General United States Volunteers. 
To James E. Yeatman, Esq., Chairman of the Executive Com- 
mittee, Western Sanitary Commission, Saint Louis, Missouri. 

P. S. Please send the sword to Mrs. W. S. Hancock, Caronde- 
let, Missouri. 

W. S. H." 

At the great Central Sanitary Fair, held with such 
marked success in the city of Philadelphia, during 
the current month of June, 1864, the citizens of the 
States especially represented, Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, and Delaware, manifested their deep interest 
in General Hancock, and their high appreciation of 
his services for the country, by the presentation of a 
splendid full set of horse equipments, valued at five 
hundred dollars, manufactured for the occasion, by 
Messrs. Mage, of Philadelphia. 

The correspondence on the subject has not yet ap- 
peared. It is known that the General has expressed 



MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 277 

his grateful appreciation of the handsome gift, 
especially on account of the application of the money 
derived from it in the Fair, to the relief of our suf- 
fering troops and sailors. 

Several other gentlemen, actuated by similar 
motives of patriotism and personal good will, took 
measures to present him a commodious dwelling in 
Philadelphia, the particulars of which reflect much 
credit on the parties concerned. From considerations 
of delicacy we abstain from inserting all the names 
of parties in this place, with regard to this honorable 
and generous proceeding. 

The Coal Exchange of Philadelphia, through the 
personal exertions of John E. Blackiston, Esq., 
Davis Peakson, Esq., and other gentlemen, gave a 
practical proof of their good will by placing at the 
disposal of General Hancock the handsome sum of 
fifteen thousand dollars, to be used by him at his 
discretion, in the work of procuring recruits for his 
Corps. 

Mr. Peakson followed his proofs of attachment to 
the General by raising, in connection with his own 
liberal subscription, the sum of twenty-four hundred 
dollars, with a view to presenting him another elegant 
sword and accoutrements. But, in consequence of his 
having received a similar present from Saint Louis, this 

24 



278 WINFIELD, THE LA WYERS SON. 

testimonial was deferred. The subscription was 
therefore retained until, at a later date, the contri- 
butions of his Philadelphia friends should make it 
possible to present him with a durable gift, which 
could be treasured by his family. 

It was perfectly natural and proper that the citi- 
zens of Saint Louis should feel a peculiar interest in 
General Hancock. Beside their high appreciation 
of his character as an officer, they had known him 
among them as a resident. As a General, they re- 
garded his brilliant military achievements as fully 
equal to the best of those of the most distinguished 
commanders of Napoleon" — Murat, Dessaix, Junot, 
and Duroc. They felt that the nation owed him a 
debt of gratitude, which would be well repaid ; but 
their attachment to his person was originated and 
cemented by still other causes. 

He had come among them from his campaigns in 
Mexico, and by his modest bearing, his gentlemanly 
courtesies, his skillful attention to his duties, had 
won all their hearts. It was nearly seventeen years 
since he first came to Missouri — a young Lieutenant 
and Aid to General Clark, then in command of Jef- 
ferson Barracks. Here he had married the only 
daughter of the late Mr. Samuel Russell, one of 
the oldest and most highly esteemed merchants of 



MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 279 

Saint Louis. The name of this gentleman is never 
mentioned but with respect among all who knew 
him. His house, on Fourth street, in that city, was 
for years the seat of generous and elegant hospitality ; 
while his career as a merchant exerted a wide-spread 
influence in the prosecution of Western trade. Here 
General Hancock had resided, for several years; 
here his children were born ; here his character as a 
soldier and a gentleman had been regarded with 
pride. Nothing of the kind, therefore, could be more 
becoming, than that St. Louis should honor herself 
by honoring him with an elegant and costly sword. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Second Army Corps Advancing on Petersburg — General Meade 
Congratulates General Hancock — Closing in upon Richmond — 
A Magnificent Ruse and a Midnight Surprise. 

WE are now to take our stand with Hancock, 
in front of Petersburg, Virginia. The inter- 
mediate steps by which he reached this important 
point are passing into the current history of the 
country. His Corps moved, in conjunction with that 
of Warren, across the intervening region, until 
they arrived at the position of most strategic value. 
He was in the advance of the extreme left, on the 
fifteenth of June, and immediately opened on the 
enemy. The outer works assailed were pronounced 
by competent judges to be more difficult to capture 
than those taken from the enemy at Missionary 
Ridge and Chattanooga. 

(280) 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 281 

It seemed natural that the old Second Corps should 
be among the first to make the attack on these new 
and powerful strongholds of the enemy. It was 
still meet and fitting that they should be in the 
advance. Their well-tried guns were among the 
earliest to wake the echoes of Petersburg. 

Up to this time the leaders at Eichmond had no 
correct idea of our movements. They were not at 
all aware of our having crossed the James. It was 
their expectation — their fond hope — that we should 
take the old route, by way of Malvern Hills, where 
they were prepared to greet us with secret embank- 
ments, ambuscades, and surprises; if possible to 
drive us back, and keep us through the summer in 
the pestilential swamps of the Chickahominy, and 
contiguous streams. They did not dream that by a 
bold movement Gkant would again change his whole 
base, dash across the James river in darkness and 
silence, and plant himself opposite their intrench- 
ments in front of Petersburg, and south of Eichmond. 
They awoke to the discovery of the fact that the 
arduous and gallant deed was done — and they knew 
it not! Their defences at a strong strategic point 
were not only now to be assailed, but both Peters- 
burg and Eichmond were to be virtually besieged, 
24* 



282 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

and the long lines of communications with other 
parts of the Confederation seriously endangered. 

Large rebel reinforcements were now sent rapidly- 
forward to confront us. By placing a strong force 
across the Appomattox river, in the immediate 
vicinity of Petersburg, the enemy prevented us from 
the speedy capture of that place, except at a greater 
sacrifice of life, on both sides, than the Lieutenant 
General felt warranted in making. 

The next strategy of Grant was the possession 
of the contiguous railroads. By shutting up con- 
siderable bodies of hostile troops in Eichmond and 
Petersburg, he prevented Lee from employing them 
against us at other points, and prepared the way for 
those movements in certain directions which he knew 
would greatly weaken the military power of the 
South. Saving his men from severe losses by direct 
attacks and defences, he could enclose the enemy 
within their entrenchments ; and then, by gradually 
cutting off their supplies, either compel an evacua- 
tion or surrender. He had already inflicted consider- 
able damage on some of their lines of communica- 
tion; but the facilities for repairing then enjoyed by 
the enemy, in consequence of the secret assistance 
they derived from their sympathizers abroad, enabled 
them to keep the most active of them in occasional 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 283 

use. The lines of our army Avere gradually and 
steadily being drawn over all this net- work of rail- 
roads ; but they were not yet sufficiently strong and 
compact to be completely effective in holding them. 

The Second Corps had been advanced toward 
Petersburg, resting its right wing on the Jerusalem 
plank road, running across from the railroad to Nor- 
folk and Weldon. In the absence of Hancock, who 
was kept from the field by the breaking out, in con- 
sequence of his severe duties, of his Gettysburg 
wound, there was a gap allowed to occur between 
his Corps and the Sixth. Taking advantage of this 
fact, revealed to them by spies, the enemy made a 
dash on his lines, and inflicted some damage. It is 
due to General Bieney, who was in temporary com- 
mand of the Second Corps, at the time, that he should 
be exonerated from all blame for this reverse. It 
was not owing to any lack of vigilance or courage 
on his part, but to the occurrence of fortuitous cir- 
cumstances not in the power of man to prevent. 

The twentieth Massachusetts regiment of volun- 
teers, attached to the Second Corps, rallied at the 
call of danger, and rendered great service on this 
occasion. It was in command, at the time, of Cap- 
tain Patten, to whom much credit is due for the 
manner in which he came to the rescue, and whose 



284 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

coolness and daring prepared the way for the gradual 
rescue of the Corps from its sudden exposure. 

Hancock was in his tent, suffering extreme pain. 
As the cry came to him — 

" The Second Corps is attacked !" he rushed from 
his couch, in his night dress, and, calling an ambu- 
lance, rode directly to the front. 

" What is the matter with the Second Corps ?" he 
asked, in tones that betokened the deepest feeling. 

"We are assailed by a superior force, in mass; cut 
off from support on the left flank !" replied one of 
his Aids, who had galloped ahead of him, to the 
scene of danger. 

In a moment more Hancock, wrapped in his army 
overcoat, sword in hand, was mounted and rushing 
to the field. But by the time he reached the centre 
of the fight, and had begun to rally his men, the 
enemy had been driven back, and the danger was 
passed. Some losses were experienced, but they 
were soon repaired, and plans were instantly laid for 
preventing any such occurrence in the future. 

The brave old Corps could still sing : 



Though some may sleep 'neath Virginia's sod, 
We still bear the flag of the free, my boys-; 

And those who are true to our land and God, 
Will meet at the last reveille, my boys." 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 285 

It is a strong proof of the confidence reposed in 
Hancock by Grant that in the attacks first made 
on Petersburg his command was materially enlarged. 
In addition to his own Corps, detachments from the 
forces under Smith and Burnside were placed at 
his immediate disposal. His main attacks were be- 
gun by the Division of Birney, who conducted him- 
self with his usual gallantry. The enemy were re- 
peatedly driven from strong positions, with severe 
losses in men and guns. Birney's troops behaved 
in the most splendid manner in their assaults, win- 
ning the highest admiration from all their fellow- 
soldiers. His division advanced, under a heavy fire, 
to within a few hundred yards of the enemy's works, 
and his guns commanded the city. 

Lee now rapidly crossed the James, reinforced 
Beauregard, in command of Petersburg, and post- 
poned, though he could not prevent its ultimate 
capture. Severe fighting ensued ; but every attempt 
to drive us from our siege position was a signal 
failure. Our lines continued to extend ; our works 
gradually grew more numerous, extensive, and power- 
ful ; and it was soon evi lent that our grasp, at this 
vital point of the enemy, could not and would not be 
loosened, until victory ensued. 

The health of Hancock speedily improved, and 



286 WWFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

he immediately resumed his more active duties in 
the field. He had placed his artillery in the most 
commanding positions, and was doing his work with, 
his usual vigor. 

The distinguished honor of making the first direct 
assault on Petersburg was assigned to the Second 
Corps, in conjunction with the troops from Bermuda 
Hundred, under Smith. Hancock was ready with 
his men, and eager for the brave attempt ; but a delay 
in furnishing him supplies caused a detention of 
several hours, which prevented the success of the 
measure. It was soon after found that the arrival 
of reinforcements had much strengthened the enemy ; 
and the peculiar location of the city would defer its 
capture by any other method than a regular siege. 
On this basis Gkant now laid his plans ; and, with 
his usual reticence and coolness, proceeded to carry 
them into effect. 

A much needed opportunity for rest was afforded our 
great army. Entrenching, bombarding, mining, was 
now the order of the day and night. The latter pro- 
cess was conducted in a manner that must always at- 
tract the attention of military historians. The ground 
was dug in such an angle as to form a subterranean 
gallery, and the miners were pushed forward by their 
pickaxes and spades under the solid earth, the exca- 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 287 

vations being made without the use of coffer works, 
or frames of any kind. Dangerous as this process 
was, it prevented the enemy from hearing our pro- 
gress under their works and beneath their feet. Si- 
lently, steadily, in a darkness illumined by only a 
few army lights, our brave men dug their way ; no 
sound of hammers being heard in their under-ground 
march, the opening to their mine being adroitly hid- 
den from view ; and occasional fusilades of musketry 
and salutes of artillery deluding the watchful enemy 
from our secret purpose. 

As a still further foil to the enemy, the Second 
Corps was ordered over the Appomattox, aided by 
other troops, who together formed a junction at Point 
of Eocks. This so attracted the attention of the 
rebels, that they were completely divested of all idea 
as to where and how any mining operations might 
be going on. At the same time a detachment of 
cavalry, under Sheridan, crossed the James, at Jones 1 
Neck, whose open movements, followed by a line of 
four hundred empty army wagons, so completely 
deceived Lee that he at once detached a special force 
to intercept us. 

The Second Corps, and its allies, performed their 
part with skill. The enemy were drawn on after 



288 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

them, in a bootless pursuit, leaving the entrench- 
ments at Petersburg still more exposed. 

At this moment, while the attention of the enemy 
is completely diverted, and while many of our own 
men are wondering what is to come from the unex- 
pected movement, the mine is sprung. The explo- 
sion is tremendous. Immense masses of earthworks 
and of the adjacent enclosure are thrown high in the 
air, and a wide breach is made in the enemy's de- 
fences. The attacking parties rush forward with 
determined valor ; but, for want of adequate support, 
at this most critical juncture, they are too much ex- 
posed to achieve all the results that such an explosion 
had warranted us to expect. The enemy recover 
from the shock just in time to bring their heaviest 
and best posted guns to bear on our exposed columns, 
and the advantages we had hoped to gain by this 
great strategic movement are suddenly wrested from 
us. But the experience gained by this explosion 
was invaluable, and we shall see that it was success- 
fully employed on several future occasions. 

It was a gratifying coincidence that soon after the 
occurrence in the advance, in which, during the ab- 
sence of Hancock, the Second Corps met with some 
losses, he should have the honor in person to repay 
them. Immediately on resuming his active command 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 289 

he commenced forward demonstrations. He issued 
an earnest address to his troops, in which he adjured 
them to haste to wipe out any reproach that might 
be supposed to rest on their long-honored colors. He 
called upon them to follow him again in repulsing 
the misguided enemies of their country, and to win 
back their guns. Nobly, enthusiastically his brave 
men responded. In a few hours only after he entered 
the field again an attack was made on the rebels, in 
which the Corps captured four guns of heavier calibre 
than those they had lost. The deed was done. Their 
honored name was re-established. 

Immediately on receiving the announcement of 
this gallant capture, General Meade dispatched this 
congratulatory note to General Hancock : 



Headquarters Army op the Potomac, 
9 A. M., July 27, 1864. 



General Hancock: 

Your dispatch of twenty minutes past seven is just received. 

I congratulate you and your gallant Corps on your success, and 

trust it will be continued. 

Geo. G. Meade, 

Major General. 

For some weeks previous to this characteristic oc- 
currence, the troops of Hancock had been among the 
most active of any engaged in the siege. The divi- 
sions of Birney, Barlow and Gibbon were fre- 
25 T 



290 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

quently in motion, inflicting severe blows on the 
enemy, at every assailable point. In consequence of 
the character of the hostile entrenchments, it was dis- 
covered- that general advances along onr whole line 
were inexpedient. The gains were not commensu 
rate with the losses of men and time. Baklow's 
division, in conjunction with a detachment of sharp- 
shooters, was sent out on important reconnoissances, 
and steps were continually taken to possess ourselves 
of the contiguous railroads, for the purpose of more 
effectually cutting off the supplies of the enemy. 
The enemy were frequently encountered in consider- 
able force, and in every case driven back. By com- 
bining on our rear and massing on our flanks the 
wily Lee succeeded in inflicting losses upon us, occa- 
sionally, especially at points where the Corps had not 
been able, owing to the nature of the country, to 
complete their junctions ; but they were soon repaired, 
and the lines of entrenchment were drawn closer and 
closer around the walls of Petersburg, 

The activity of our cavalry, under Wilson, con- 
tinued to be felt at all points. He succeeded in 
reaching several parts of the enemy's railroad com- 
munications, and in citting them asunder. Their 
rations were growing less and less reliable, smaller 
and smaller in quantity. Large bodies of hostile 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 291 

raiders were sent into comparatively new regions, to 
procure those indispensable supplies, the want of 
which was now so much felt by Lee in his camps, and 
by the schemers in Eichmond and other besieged 
places. 

General Hancock had resumed the active com. 
mand of his Corps on the evening of the 27th of 
June. General Birney, who had so well conducted 
himself at its head for the past few weeks, now re- 
sumed his position in the Third Division. 

Demonstrations were soon began to be made for 
the complete possession of the Weldon railroad. The 
occupation of this important means of communica- 
tion would leave the besieged enemy only one per- 
manent railroad — the Danville — and such outside 
roads as the country afforded. Many and difficult 
preparatory steps were essential to secure this im- 
portant result. 

At daylight of Saturday, July 30, the Union 
forces opened on the enemy with a battery of one 
hundred guns. Hancock had recrossed the James, 
and was prepared to take part in the contemplated 
assault. He had been operating to advantage for 
two days on the north bank of the river, and now 
joined his forces with those of Shekidan and Kautz, 
on the south side of the Appomattox. He had come 



292 WINFIELL, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

to the rescue at the most critical moment. His rapia 
movements in the direction of Malvern Hill had re- 
sulted in the capture of several guns and a considera- 
ble body of prisoners. 

The position of the campaign after the explosion 
and assault was as formidable as ever. Our lines 
were still advancing ; the coils of war were being 
drawn more and more closely around the enemies of 
the Eepublic. 

It was now the 30th of July. Gratifying intelli- 
gence came pouring in of the operations of Sherman, 
at Atlanta, and of Farragut, at Mobile Bay. The 
spirits of our men, in spite of the intense heats and 
droughts they were called to encounter, and their 
losses by repulses at the open jaws of death in the 
explosion of our mine, were still exultant, and every 
movement was onward. 

The great aim of Grant was the complete and 
final possession of the Weldon railroad. All his 
strategy now tended to this important point. 

On the 9th of August came the glorious news that 
Admiral Farragut had passed the forts in Mobile 
Bay, which the over - confident Confederates had 
boldly and loudly predicted he could not pass. Sta- 
tioned at the mast-head of his gallant flag-ship, the 
Hartford, with his speaking-trumpet placed, by means 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 293 

of tubes, on the deck, he had swept into the waters 
of the enemy, attacking them at every assailable 
point, sinking and capturing their ships, taking pos- 
session of their forts, and planting the national flag 
on the ramparts from which, with so much of treason- 
able infamy, it had been hauled down. The nation 
was electrified at the welcome intelligence, and shouts 
of joy ran along the Union lines in front of Peters- 
burg. New successes were granted us in the variable 
Valley of the Shenandoah, and the movements of 
Sherman, in Georgia, were highly encouraging. 

The continued and skillful strategy of Gkant 
completely deceived the enemy. They were being paid 
off in their own coin. Greater familiarity with their 
location and wily stratagems had prepared the way 
for those strategic movements which surprised and 
annoyed them to a degree they had never experi- 
enced before. But greater and more signal defeats 
awaited them. Instead of ending his campaign be- 
fore Petersburg, the enemy found, to their deep grief 
and ill-dissembled chagrin, that he had but just be- 
gun it. Gradually, but surely, one after another, 
their avowed contempt for the Lieutenant -General 
died away ; and they were reluctantly forced to con- 
fess that Lee had, at last, met a foeman worthy of 
his steel. We thought he was more than worthy. 
25* 



294 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

On Saturday, August 13th, the Coips of Hancock 
was thrown across the James, at Deep Bottom. This 
was the same point at which he had made a success- 
ful feint movement, on a previous occasion. It had 
been sent to City Point, on special service, and em- 
barked on transports. Conjecture as to its ultimate 
destination had been busy, as usual ; but all doubt 
was dispelled by its passing up the river, and landing 
at Dutch Gap. A little after sunrise, on Sunday 
morning, Birney advanced, with Foster's division, 
and drove the enemy a considerable distance. The 
lines of the enemy were broken, and a capture made 
of nearly a hundred prisoners. 

The cavalry, under Gregg, had now cleared the 
road for Hancock, and he steadily advanced. He 
posted his Corps on the Newmarket road, which leads 
directly from Malvern Hill to Kichmond — distant, at 
that point, only about ten miles. 

Birney, now promoted, and most deservedly, too, 
to the command of the Tenth Corps, made a gallant 
assault on the front of the enemy, carrying their 
works, which guarded the approaches to Richmond 
in that direction, capturing six pieces of cannon and 
two mortars. 

The position of the enemy was a strong one, and 
they parted with it very reluctantly. But the skil- 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 295 

ful manoeuvring of Hancock had enabled him to 
reach their front in a way they were not all prepared 
for ; and there was no resort left them but to with- 
draw. Our troops held the position. 

But little hard fighting took place, as the strategy 
of Hancock rendered it unnecessary. The enemy 
were taken by surprise, and our loss was small. 

The whole movement was a perfect blind to the 
enemy. Our troops, which they saw moving down 
the river, on transports, during the day, turned back 
again at night, and, surprising the enemy in their en- 
trenchments, captured them with ease. 

As the Second started on this imaginary voyage, 
their bands struck up gaily, and gave to the winds 
several martial and playful airs to be wafted to rebel 
ears. They thought we were bound to Charleston, 
perhaps to Washington, it might be to Mobile, per- 
adventure to Atlanta. But when we returned 
that same night, up the still waters of that same 
river, in silence and in darkness, they woke to their 
sad mistake, as our men charged with a victorious 
shout on their works, and carried everything before 
them. By daylight of the next morning the splen- 
did artillery of the Second Corps could be heard 
along the hostile lines, its thunders waking from their 
fitful slumbers the guilty dreamers of Richmond. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Weldon Railroad Captured — Atlanta Reduced — The Victory 
at Winchester — Hancock's Command, Alone and Unaided, Re- 
pulses the Enemy and Retains the Weldon Road — Bayonet to 
Bayonet, the Foe are driven back — One of the Most Desperate 
Struggles of the War. 

THE Union forces operating on the north bank 
of the James, in the middle of August, re- 
mained for a time in boding silence. Their position 
was one of great strategic importance. It was a 
mystery to the enemy. They dared not attempt to 
dislodge it, for they knew not how large a support 
might be awaiting them in its rear ; and yet it did 
not seem to them of sufficient magnitude to warrant 
its long continued advance. 

This habit of mystifying the enemy by his move- 
ments had become a fixed one with Gkant. It was 
like a second nature with him. Heretofore, in nearly 
every instance, the enemy could read our plans of 
battle, discern and predict our campaigns, before we 

(296) 



HIi NEW MOVEMENTS. 297 

nad begun to develop or enter upon them. Now 
however, the case was widely different. If Lee was 
wily, Grant was equally so. If Lee was good at 
strategy, Grant was better. If Lee was great at 
manoeuvring, Grant was greater. The history of 
the war will abundantly prove all this to be true. 

There was a period, during this diversion of Han- 
cock and Birney, when the advance front of our 
lines was within six miles of the Secesh capital. The 
object of the reconnoissance was soon attained. It 
was to protect our men, working, at Dutch Gap, on 
the canal, being constructed there to aid our ap- 
proaches to the city. The cavalry of Gregg was 
posted on the Charles City Eoad, protecting our 
right wing, the left flank of which extended to the 
banks of the James. Lee was prevented, by this 
means, from interfering with our workmen, and 
taught that we knew, as well as he, that there was 
more than one way of advancing on his base. By 
this extension of our forces we could assail both 
Kichmond an! Petersburg at the'same moment; and 
the better watch the immediate movements of the 
enemy. If it were true, as the Confederates and 
their sympathizers so blatantly asserted, that ' Rich- 
mond could not be taken,' Grant, his Generals, and 
his army, could not see it in that point of light. 



298 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Our continued progress had further developed the 
position of the enemy. In a spirited engagement 
we had captured four hundred more prisoners, and 
killed two general officers — Chamblin and Gherrard 
— their bodies being left in our hands. All' our 
plans and combinations were proved to be effective; 
the signs of its coming doom were concentrating 
more and more closely around the focus of the re- 
bellion. It was evident to all reflecting minds that 
there must be more severe fighting, and that Rich- 
mond and vicinity were yet to contain many other 
sanguinary fields, ere the war could be brought to 
an honorable and permanent close. 

It was now past the middle of August. Many 
attacks were made on our lines, but they were in- 
variably repulsed. Obstacles to the progress of the 
Union arms that had been potential in former cam- 
paigns, failed to retard us now. The siege of Rich- 
mond was a fixed fact. Nothing seemed to relax our 
hold on the central power of the enemy. Every 
thing transpired to prove that the final victory over 
the army of Lee v^ould terminate the struggle in the 
complete restorati m of the Union. 

Od the morning of the 18th of August, our troops 
made a most important movement. They crossed 
from their seemingly quiet position, and, by rapid 



HIS NE W MO VEMENTS. 299 

advances, captured and held certain strong points on 
the Weldon railroad. Severe fighting ensued ; but 
we held all that we had gained, capturing a consider- 
able number of prisoners from Heth's, Mahone's, and 
Hoke's divisions — some of the best of the Southern 
forces. 

Meanwhile the continued efforts of the enemy to 
dislodge us from the north bank of the James, were 
all futile. We remained in our positions, and en- 
trenched. 

There was a surprise of our lines on the Weldon 
road during the night of the 20th of August, in 
which we lost some guns and prisoners. But it was 
soon recovered from them ; and, while our entrench- 
ments were increased and materially strengthened, 
other measures were promptly adopted to prevent a 
similar occurrence in the future. 

The tenacity of Gkant exceeded any thing pre- 
viously displayed by him, in any of his movements. 
At each attempt of the enemy to move him from his 
hold, he grasped it all the more firmly. He was 
furiously attacked during several successive days; 
and each engagement gave him a new victory. We 
more than regained the number of prisoners we had 
lost in the previous surprise. At the last of these 
onsets four active Generals were killed and wounded. 



800 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

It was perfectly evident that the enemy could not 
dislodge us from the coveted strategic points. By 
the 25th of August it became apparent that they had 
desisted, at least for the present, from all attempts to 
repossess them. 

Comparatively quiet possession of the road now 
being obtained, our forces proceeded thoroughly to 
destroy all those portions of it under their imme- 
diate control. The work was quickly and effectually 
done. Our men divided their forces to the best ad- 
vantage. A part worked night and day in complet- 
ing fortifications ; the soldier of one hour was the 
digger of the next ; the musket and the spade inter- 
changed with each other in the ramparts, at regular 
intervals ; while the silent cannon, glistening in the 
sun, or glimmering in the light of army lanterns, 
pushed out their open mouths over the heads of the 
men, as their grim defenders, ready to plead for the 
continuance of their industry, at a moment's warning. 

The Weldon railroad was ours. 

Richmond papers, coming within our now pro- 
tected lines, acknowledged, with ill-concealed shame, 
their loss of this important position. They taunted 
us with endeavoring to starve them out of their 
stronghold ; as if they had not attempted the same 
thing with us, every time they had the opportunity. 



DEFENDS THE WELD ON ROAD. 301 

The first division of the Second Corps were among 
the most active of all our troops in destroying this 
necessary means of army communication. They 
were accustomed to labor ; and these fighting work- 
men were not ashamed to work hard here, in so good 
a cause. They completely destroyed the road ; tearing 
up and burning it, from the first point of conquest 
to Eeams's station, and for a distance of three miles 
beyond. The whole line held by our forces at that 
place was nearly eight miles. 

Another desperate attempt was made by the enemy 
to regain possession of the road toward evening of 
the 27th of August. The attack was made on Han- 
cock, who was stationed at an exposed point, isolated 
from the main line — as was so often his position, far 
in the advance. 

The attack began south of Eeams's station, and 
was made with great desperation. But he met it 
with all his unflinching valor, and gave it a severe 
repulse. It was a combined assault on his centre 
and left. Support was out of the question. He 
took up the gage of battle single-handed, and fought 
it out on that line. The fight was one of the fiercest 
of any field, of any campaign. But he met the 
enemy at every point, and drove them, routed, from 

26 



302 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the field. Their dead and wounded, which were 
numerous, were left in our hands. 

This attack was evidently intended to be simul- 
taneous against Hancock, by Wilcox on his centre, 
and Heth on his left. They had expected to find 
him scattered, busy at the work of railroad destruc- 
tion, and, comparatively, unprepared. They were 
mistaken. He was ready for them. Exposed as his 
position was, he defended it with such vigor and 
skill that they were completely foiled. 

Forming in the adjacent woods, placing their artil- 
lery so as to be ambushed, and, at the same 4 ,ime, to 
enfilade our lines, the enemy flattered themselves with 
a sudden scare on the part of Hancock, and an easy 
conquest on theirs. He very soon undeceived them. 
Their cannonading was heavy, lasting a considerable 
time. They then massed under cover, and charged 
on our unprotected columns. But our men dropped 
their work instantly, seized their rifles with a rush, 
swept into line like a wave of the sea rolling on the 
even beach, and met the shock of arms without a 
waver. Bayonet clashed with bayonet, sword with 
sword, in rapid succession. Hand to hand, foot to 
foot, shoulder to shoulder, face to face, our men held 
every inch of their ground, taking not a step back- 
ward from the foe, but hurling him in defiance along 



DEFENDS THE WELD ON ROAD. 303 

the earth, in every instance, where there was any- 
thing like an equality of forces. In one or two cases, 
where the numbers of the enemy were overpowering, 
and a slight foothold was gained by them, our men 
rushed from one weak point to another, strengthen- 
ing each other's hands, cheering one another to the 
onset, until the union was secured, the enemy were 
driven back, and our original position regained and 
held. Our troops rushed from right to left, in aid 
of the assailed columns, beating back the repeated 
assaults from the weaker points, and massing into 
stronger lines of defence. 

General Gibbon displayed great courage and 
presence of mind on this occasion. He checked the 
advancing foes in the midst of one of their most 
furious onsets, and hurled them back in confusion. 
General Gregg, with his dismounted cavalry, render- 
ed important service. His improvised infantry were 
handled in the most handsome manner ; meeting the 
enemy in a way for which they were not prepared. 
The command of Miles, which was the first assailed, 
won high distinction, notwithstanding its scattered 
condition. The General and his staff officers behaved 
with great gallantry, and received the commendation 
of Hancock, on the field. 

This severe fight was continued through the after- 



304 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

noon, until dark ; the enemy being held in check 
by artillery, dismounted cavalry, and skirmishers. 
General Hancock speaks of it as acknowledged to 
have been one of the most determined and desperate 
conflicts of the war ; resembling Spottsylvania in its 
character. Had there been more troops at his com 
mand, at the moment, the victory would have been 
still more decisive. 

A considerable number of prisoners were sent 
forward from the divisions of Wilcox and Heth. 

The enemy disappeared from the hard-fought field, 
evidently much discomfited, leaving his dead and 
wounded in our hands. Their losses were admitted 
by prisoners to have been greater, in proportion, 
than any they had experienced during the war. 

The object of Hancock in the temporary occu- 
pation of his portion of the road was attained, and 
our onward movements continued to progress. The 
Southern press acknowledged severe losses in this fierce 
action with Hancock, four of their general officers 
being among the number. The destruction of the 
road contiguous to Eeams's Station by the Second 
Corps had been so thorough that the enemy were 
compelled to transport all their stores from that point 
by means of army wagons, over difficult byways. 
They would have had but little even of these with 



NEW UNI3N TRIUMPHS. 305 

which to supply their increasing wants, had it not 
been for the support afforded them by their foreign 
allies, who managed to evade our blockade at Wil- 
mington. The best of their arms and munitions of 
war had come to their diminished camps from this 
alien source ; their dependence for them on other parts 
of the seceding States being now materially lessened 
by the capture of more Southern positions. The 
strong point of Atlanta, Georgia, was rendered com- 
paratively useless to the rebellion, by the consum- 
mate strategy and invincible courage of Sherman, 
in co-operation with the indomitable Farragut, at 
Mobile, Alabama, and the gallant Sheridan, in the 
Valley of Virginia. The glorious news soon came 
that Atlanta was ours. The able General Hood, on 
whom so much dependence had been placed by the 
Confederate authorities, was compelled to evacuate 
that south-western stronghold, leaving in our pos- 
session all its defences, a large number of prisoners, 
and an immense supply of munitions of war. 

Repeated attempts continued to be made by Lee to 
regain possession of the much needed Weldon road. 
But they all failed. Every attack was gallantly re- 
pulsed, and we held on. The spirits of the army re- 
mained as exultanf as ever. There was no such word 
as fail in all our increasing ranks. President Lin- 
26* U 



306 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOW. 

COLN issued a special Order, as Commander in Chief 
of the Army and Navy, recapitulating the victories 
won by General Sherman and Admiral Farragut, 
returning thanks to the soldiers and seamen con- 
cerned, for their glorious achievements, and calling 
on the people of the United States to assemble in 
their respective places of public worship, to render 
thanks to Almighty God for these signal proofs of 
the Divine favor on the Union arms. A salute of 
one hundred shotted guns was ordered by General 
Grant, in honor of these great victories. 

Meanwhile, as the summer closed, and the month 
of September came npon us, our advance toward 
Richmond steadily continued. It was as rapid as 
such siege approaches could be made, consistent with 
a due regard to the lives of our men, and our bases 
of operations. Every day of the months devoted to 
the conquest of Richmond city had been profitably 
employed. Not an hour, not a moment, had been 
lost in idle inactivity or supine indifference. The 
army and the navy efficiently co-operated with each 
other, and the prospect of ultimate' victory over the 
secession was as cheering as ever. The capture of 
Richmond, now undertaken in downright earnest, 
was prosecuted with vigor, although the plans con- 
templated and put in operation by the Lieutenant- 



NEW UNION TRIUMPHS. 307 

General, could not, with propriety, be made known 
to the American people, quietly pursuing their avo- 
cations at home. Delays, which they could neither 
understand nor appreciate, were necessary to the suc- 
cessful termination of the closing scenes of the great 
struggle. 

Vigorous measures were constantly in progress. 
By the middle of September large masses of Union 
troops were stationed at different points on the rail- 
roads, a few miles South of Petersburg. Our left 
line, in strong force, was pushed across the "Weldon 
road, to a mile beyond it, on the west. The move- 
ment was a cause of some excitement among the 
enemy, who watched its progress with the deepest 
interest.- General Gkant does not appear to have 
taken the trouble to inform them what it all meant. 
Probably he was of the opinion that they would find 
it out themselves, in due time. At all events, they 
took the hint sufficiently to strengthen their entrench- 
ments in that immediate neighborhood. 

In order to render our operations more effective, a 
railroad was constructed by our able engineer corps 
from City Point, on the James, only a few miles south 
of Richmond, to a convenient terminus on the Wel- 
don road. This means of communication was soon 
opened to great advantage, the arrival of the first 



303 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

trains of cars, suitably loaded, being received with 
cheering all along our lines. It was another stretch 
of the conquering chain of war that was environing 
Kichmond — a chain that the Confederates had with 
their own hands forged, and from the coils of which 
they were soon to find there was no escape. 

Large reinforcements continued to swell the Union 
army under Gkant, who quickly massed them on 
his left, immediately confronting the rebel right. 
"Where they came from, and what the hero of Yicks- 
burg was going to do with them, seemed to pass the 
foe's comprehension. His movements, on all hands, 
continued to be to them a profound mystery. This 
was exactly what he intended. When the time 
should come — and he, of all men, knew when that 
time would come — he was prepared to encircle Peters- 
burg, as he had Vicksburg, with a grasp that would 
either compel its evacuation or destruction. For rea- 
sons creditable to his noble soldierly qualities, he 
much preferred the former to the latter alternative. 

Matters remained in this favorable condition, when, 
after a short visit to the headquarters of General 
Shekidan by the Lieutenant General, the Army of 
the Shenandoah suddenly moved on the enemy, and 
won the splendid victory before Winchester, Virginia, 
which occurred on the 19th of September. By a 



NEW UNION TRIUMPHS. 309 

I 

series of rapid engagements, commencing, very pro- 
perly, at Bunker Hill, Sheridan drove the enemy from 
all their positions, killing large numbers, capturing 
several thousand prisoners, a large supply of provi- 
sions and many munitions of war. The rout of the 
enemy was complete, continuing through a series of 
battles, at different points, to Staunton, Virginia, when 
the town was possessed, with all the adjacent region, and 
much of the Confederate property destroyed. Every 
position was temporarily held for strategic purposes, 
and a blow inflicted on the secession in that quarter 
of the country from which it never could recover. 

The effect of this brilliant victory on the army 
before Eichmond can be well conceived. It cheered 
every loyal heart. It strengthened every patriotic 
arm. It had been won in accordance with plans pre- 
viously laid down by Gkant, and was designed to 
aid him in his immediate movements on the enemy's 
capital and its surroundings. 

On the 30th of September another onward move 
ment began. The Tenth Corps, under Birney, co- 
operating with other selected bodies of veteran 
troops, moved on the strong entrenchments of the 
enemy, at Chapin's Farm, the nearest point to Eich- 
mond yet reached, and carried them by storm. The 
hostile line was found to be thin, and the embankments, 



310 W1NFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

which were among the strongest thrown up around 
the rebel capital, were defended by only a small force. 
The subsequent attempts made by the enemy to re- 
take these commanding approaches to Eichmond 
were so easily repulsed that the impression began to 
prevail in certain quarters that Lee would evacuate 
his capital and thus surrender his base of operations. 
But Grant, and those who better comprehended the 
strategy of the Confederate leader, knew better than 
this. He and they were perfectly assured that there 
must be much more severe fighting at this point, 
before the rebellion would be subdued. 

On the 2d of October, Hancock advanced a por- 
tion of his Corps to a point considerably nearer the 
enemy. He took possession of the Boynton road, 
over which the enemy had been carrying their sup- 
plies, in wagons, to Petersburg. Two lines of works 
were found unoccupied. A skirmish line opposed 
our advance, but gradually fell back before the con- 
tinued attacks of our tro :>ps. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Battle of Gettysburg described by General Hancock — Full De- 
tails of the Fight that Saved Philadelphia — The Order that Placed 
General Hancock over General Howard — The Second and Third 
Divisions of the Second Corps Bear the Brunt of Battle. 

PAUSING for a brief space in our record of Gen- 
eral Hancock's war career, now rapidly draw- 
ing to a close so far as active service at the front is 
concerned, it will be interesting here to retrace our 
steps over the fields of carnage, to introduce, in our 
hero's own words, a description of the ever-memo- 
rable three days' struggle around the Heights of 
Gettysburg ; that fierce and bloody conflict between 
the desperate and determined invaders of the Key- 
stone State and the equally resolute defenders of her 
sacred soil ; that bitter battle upon which hung the 
fate of Philadelphia. We quote, therefore, from 
General Hancock's evidence given on March 22, 
1864, before the Committee on the Conduct of the 
"War, then in session at Washington. He commences 
by alluding to the receipt of Major-General Butter- 
field's order, which we here insert. 

(311) 



312 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

Headquarters Army op the Potomac, 

July 1, 1863, 1.10 p. m. 
Commanding Officer, Second Corps (General Hancock) : 

The Major-General commanding has just been informed that 
General Reynolds has been killed or badly wounded. He directs 
that you turn over the command of your Corps to General Gibbon : 
that you proceed to the front, and by virtue of this order, in case 
of the truth of General Reynolds's death, you assume command of 
the corps there assembled, viz., the 11th, 1st and 3d, at Emmetts- 
burg. If you think the ground and position there a better one to 
fight a battle under existing circumstances, you will so advise the 
General, and he will order all the troops up. You know the Gen- 
eral's views, and General Warren, who is fully aware of them, 
has gone out to see General Reynolds. 

Later, 1.15 p. m. — Reynolds has possession of Gettysburg, and 
the enemy are reported as falling back from in front of Gettys- 
burg. Hold your column ready to move. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
D. Butterfield, 
Major-General and Chief of Staff'. 

After referring to this order, the General said : "I 
started a little before half-past one, turning over the 
command of my corps to General Gibbon, under 
General Meade's directions. General Gibbon was 
not the next in rank in that corps ; but he was the 
one General Meade directed should assume the com- 
mand, as he considered him the most suitable person 
for it. 

" Several such instances occurred during that bat- 



GETTYSBURG— PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 313 

tie. General Meade, prior to the battle, showed me 
or told me of a letter he had received from the Sec- 
retary of War on this subject. The Government re- 
cognizing the difficulty of the situation, believing 
that a battle was imminent, and might occur in one, 
two, or three days, and not knowing the views of 
General Meade in relation to his commanders, the 
Secretary of War wrote him a note, authorizing him 
to make any changes in his army that he pleased, 
and that he would be sustained by the President and 
himself. That did not make it legal, because it was 
contrary to the law to place a junior officer over a 
senior. At the same time it was one of those emer- 
gencies in which General Meade was authorized, as 
before stated, to exercise that power. I was not the 
senior of either General Howakd, of the Eleventh 
Corps, or General Sickles, of the Third Corps. My 
commission bore date on the same day with theirs ; 
by my prior commission they both ranked me. Of 
course, it was not a very agreeable office for me to 
fill, to go and take command of my seniors. How- 
ever, I did not feel much embarrassment about it, 
because I was an older soldier than either of them. 
But I knew that legally it was not proper, and that, 
if they chose to resist it, it might become a very 

troublesome matter to me for the time - being. 
27 



314 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER >S SON. 

Whether or not General Meade, when he gave me 
the order, knew about this relative rank, I do not 
know. I say this because I have since understood 
that He did not. When I spoke to him about it be- 
fore departing, however, he remarked in substance 
that he was obliged to use such persons as he felt 
disposed to use ; that in this case he sent me because 
he had explained his views to me, and had not ex- 
plained them to the others ; that I knew his plans 
and ideas, and could better accord with him in my 
operations than anybody else. I went to Gettysburg, 
arriving on the ground not later than half-past three 
o'clock. I found that, practically, the fight was then 
over. The rear of our column, with the enemy in 
pursuit, was then coming through the town of Get- 
tysburg. General Howakd was on Cemetery Hill, 
and there had evidently been an attempt on his part 
to stop and form some of his troops there ; what 
troops he had formed there, I do not know. I un- 
derstood afterwards, and accepted it as the fact, that 
he had formed one division there prior to this time. 
I told General Howakd I had orders to take com- 
mand in the front. I did not show him the orders, 
because he did not demand it. He acquiesced. 

"I exercised the command until evening, when 
General Slocum arrived, about six or seven o'clock. 



GETTYSBURG— PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 315 

His troops were in the neighborhood, for they appar- 
ently had been summoned up before I arrived, by 
General Howard possibly, as well as the Third 
Corps. When General Slocum arrived, he being 
my senior, and not included in this order to me, I 
turned the command over to him. In fact, I was in- 
structed verbally by General Butterfield, Chief of 
Staff, before I left for the front, that I was to do so. 
" When I arrived and took command, I extended 
the lines. I sent General Wadsworth to the right 
to take possession of Culp's Hill with his division. 
I directed General Geary, whose division belonged to 
the Twelfth Corps (its commander, General Slocum, 
not then having arrived), to* take possession of the 
high ground towards Eound Top. I made such dis- 
position as I thought wise and proper. The enemy, 
evidently believing that we were reinforced, or that 
our whole army was there, discontinued their great 
efforts, and the battle for that day was virtually over. 
There was firing of artillery and skirmishing all 
along the front, but that was the end of that day's 
battle. By verbal instructions, and in the order 
which I had received from General Meade, I was 
directed to report, after having arrived on the ground, 
whether it would be necessary or wise to continue 
to fight the battle at Gettysburg, or whether it was 



316 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

possible for the fight to be bad on tbe ground Gen- 
eral Meade bad selected. About four o'clock, p.m., 
I sent word by Major Mitchell, aide-de-camp to 
General Meade, that I would bold tbe ground until 
dark, meaning to allow bim time to decide tbe mat- 
ter for himself. As soon as I bad gotten matters 
arranged to my satisfaction, and saw that the troops 
were being formed again, and I felt secure, I wrote 
a note to General Meade, and informed bim of my 
views of tbe ground at Gettysburg. I told bim that 
the only disadvantage which I thought it had was 
that it could be readily turned by way of Emmetts- 
burg, and that the roads were clear for any move- 
ment he might make. I had ordered all the trains 
back, as I came up, to clear the roads. 

" General Meade had directed my corps, the Sec- 
ond Corps, to march up towards Gettysburg, under the 
command of General Gibbon. When I found that 
the enemy had ceased their operations, I directed 
General Gibbon to halt his corps two or three miles 
behind Gettysburg, in order to protect our rear from 
any flank movement of the enemy. Then my oper- 
ations in the front being closed, I turned the com- 
mand over to General Slocum, and immediately 
started to report to General Meade in detail what I 
bad done, in order to express my views clearly to 



GETTYSBURG —PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 317 

him, and to see what he was disposed to do. I rode 
back, and found General Meade about nine o'clock. 
He told me he had received my messages and note, 
and had decided, upon the representations I had 
made, and the existence of known facts of the case, 
to fight at Gettysburg, and had ordered all the corps 
to the front. That was the end of operations for 
that day. 

" On the third day, in the morning, the enemy and 
General Slocum were a good deal engaged. About 
one or two o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy com- 
menced a terrific cannonade, from probably one hun- 
dred and twenty pieces of artillery, on the front of 
the line connecting Cemetery Hill with Eound Top, 
the left centre commanded by me. That line con- 
sisted of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Corps, of which I had 
the general command. I commanded that whole front. 
General Gibbon commanded the Second Corps in my 
absence, General Newton the First Corps, and Gen- 
eral Birney the Third,, That cannonade continued for 
probably an hour and a ha ! f. The enemy then made 
an assault at the end of that time. It was a very 
formidable assault, and made, I should judge, with 
about 18,000 infantry. When the columns of the 
enemy appeared, it looked as if they were going to 
attack the centre of our line, but, after marching 
27* 



318 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

straight out a little distance; they seemed to incline 
a little to their left, as if their object was to march 
through my command and seize Cemetery Hill, 
which, I have no doubt, was their intention. They 
attacked with wonderful spirit ; nothing could have 
been more spirited. The shock of the assault fell 
upon the 2d and 3d Divisions of the Second Corps, as- 
sisted by a small brigade of Vermont troops, together 
with the artillery of our line, which fired from Bound 
Top to Cemetery Hill at the enemy all the way as 
they advanced, whenever they had the opportunity. 
Those were the troops that really met the assault. 
No doubt there were other troops that fired a little, 
but those were the troops that really withstood the 
shock of the assault and repulsed it. The attack of 
the enemy was met by about six small brigades of 
our troops, and was finally repulsed after a terrific 
contest at very close quarters, in which our troops 
took about thirty or forty colors and some 4000 to 
5000 prisoners, with great loss to the enemy in killed 
and wounded. The repulse was a most signal one, 
and that decided the battle, and was practically the 
end of the fight. I was wounded at the close of the 
assault, and that ended my operations with the army 
for that campaign. I did not follow it in its future 
movements. 



GETTYSBURG— PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 319 

" This practically ended the fighting of the battle of 
Gettysburg. There was no serious fighting there 
after that, save on the left, in an advance by a small 
command of the Pennsylvania Eeserves, made very 
soon afterwards, and based upon our success. I may 
say one thing here : I think it was probably an un- 
fortunate thing that I was wounded at the time I 
was, and equally unfortunate that General Gibbon 
was also wounded ; because the absence of a promi- 
nent commander, who knew the circumstances thor- 
oughly at such a moment as that, was a great disad- 
vantage. I think that our lines should have ad- 
vanced immediately, and I believe we should have 
won a great victory. I was very confident that the 
advance would be made. General Meade told me 
before the fight that if the enemy attacked me, he 
intended to put the Fifth and Sixth Corps on the 
enemy's flank ; therefore, when I was wounded and 
lying down in my ambulance, and about leaving the 
field, I dictated a note to General Meade, and told 
him if he would put in the Fifth and Sixth Corps, I 
believed he would win a great victory. I asked him 
afterwards, when I returned to the army, what he 
had done in the premises. He said he had ordered 
the movement, but the troops were slow in collecting, 
and moved so slowly that nothing was done before 



320 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

night, except that some of the Pennsylvania Keserves 
went out and met Hood's division, it was understood, 
of the enemy, and actually overthrew it, assisted, no 
doubt, in some measure, by their knowledge of their 
failure in the assault. There were only two divisions 
of the enemy on our extreme left, opposite Bound 
Top, and there was a gap in their line of one mile 
that their assault had left, and I believe if our whole 
line had advanced with spirit, it is not unlikely that 
we would have taken all their artillery at that point. 
I think that was a fault ; that we should have pushed 
the enemy there, for we do not often catch them in 
that position ; and the rule is, and it is natural, that 
when you repulse or defeat an enemy, you should 
pursue him ; and I believe it is a rare thing that one 
party beats another and does not pursue him ; and I 
think that on that occasion it only required an order 
and prompt execution. 

" I have no doubt the enemy regarded the success 
of their assault as certain, so much so that they were 
willing to expend all their ammunition. They did 
not suppose that any troops could live under that 
cannonade ; but they met troops that had been so 
accustomed to artillery fire that it did not have the 
effect on them that they expected. It was a most 



GETTYSBURG— PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 321 

terrific and appalling cannonade, — one possibly hardly 
ever paralleled. 

" Question. — Was there ever, in any battle of 
which you have read, more artillery brought into 
action than in that battle? 

" Answer. — I doubt whether there has ever been 
more concentrated upon an equal space and opening 
at one time. I think there has been more artillery 
engaged in many battles, but do not believe there 
has been more upon both sides concentrated on an 
equal space. 

" Question. — You did not follow the army from 
there ? 

" Answer. — No, sir ; I left the field the moment 
the fight was over. 

" Question. — When did you join the army again ? 

" Answer. — I did not join it again until some time 
in December, when active operations had ceased. I 
was then ordered by the Secretary of War into the 
States from whence the regiments of my corps came 
to fill them up by recruitment, and I am now on my 
return to the army. 

11 Question. — But, with equal numbers, you would 
not hesitate to attack the enemy anywhere under 
equal circumstances? 

" Answer. — No, sir ; I would not. In fact, there 
V 



322 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

is no finer army, if as fine, in existence in the world 
than the Army of the Potomac. The troops will do 
anything if they are only ordered. If they have not 
made this or that attack, it is because their com- 
manders did not order them to make it." 

In this statement we have a complete epitome of 
General Hancock's character, since it demonstrates 
his prompt and unquestioning obedience to orders, 
his fearless bravery, his keen and rapid appreciation 
of military positions, and not less his innate courtesy, 
his delicate appreciation of the feelings of others, and 
that modest self-abnegation which has ever been one 
of his marked characteristics. One sentence em- 
bodies this : "I think it was probably an unfortunate 
thing that I was wounded at the time I was." Not 
a word as to the fearful peril in which he had been 
placed ; not a sigh of anguish, as his severe wound 
was even then, probably, administering sharp re- 
minders, but merely the regret of the soldier that he 
was prevented from completing the work in hand, 
and thus reaping for his country the fruits of the 
great victory which his valor had practically placed 
within grasp. Lying wounded in his ambulance, he 
suggested a movement which, if it had been carried 
out, would doubtless have saved many months of 
hard fighting afterwards. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Brigadier- General Hancock — Battles of Tolopatomoy Creek, North 
Anna, Cold Harbor, the Sanguinary Chickahominy, Deep Bottom, 
Reams 's Station, and Boydton Plank-Road — The End of his Fight- 
ing Career — An Important Mission Conferred upon him. 

RESUMING our narrative, we may mention here 
that the rank of Brigadier-General was con- 
ferred upon General Hancock for the brilliant action 
of May 12 th. The next engagement of any note 
was at Tolopatomoy Creek, on May 30th, Han- 
cock having led the advance of the left flank and 
pushed on to Bowling Green, thence to Milford 
bridge, where he crossed the Mattapony, still seek- 
ing the enemy and thirsting for battle, on Saturday, 
May 21st. During that day and Sunday the army 
advanced along the line of the Fredericksburg Rail- 
road, its right at Guinney's Station, its centre at 
Bowling Green, and its left at Milford Station. The 
enemy's cavalry were met and repulsed in small de- 
tachments. By nightfall on Monday, General Han- 
cock, with the Second and Fifth Corps, reached the 
North Anna River in the neighborhood of Jericho 

(823) 



324 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

bridge. These two corps were in the advance of the 
main body, the Fifth being on the right of the Sec- 
ond. The enemy, having carefully removed all his 
stores along the route, was here found formed in 
very strong position, and evidently bent on holding 
his ground. With characteristic impetuosity, Han- 
cock rapidly formed his plans, and, leading his men 
in a desperate charge, forced the enemy's works and 
carried the position, with the loss of about three 
hundred men. The Fifth Corps crossed the river 
higher up, and were at once attacked, but repulsed 
the enemy and inflicted considerable damage. Gen- 
eral Grant, in writing of these engagements, said 
he had never heard more rapid or massive firing 
either of artillery or musketry. At night the Sec- 
ond and Fifth Corps were on the south side of the 
North Anna, and by Wednesday the whole army 
had crossed, after some severe fighting at Chester- 
field bridge and Jericho bridge and ford. 

Pushing onward, the infantry got possession of 
Hanovertown and the crossing of the Pamunkey, 
Gregg's cavalry, with Sheridan's corps co-operat- 
ing, moving southward. Near Tolopatomoy Creek, 
an affluent of the Pamunkey, Gregg's cavalry encoun- 
tered Hampton's and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, and a 
sharp engagement ensued. Gregg was greatly out- 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 325 

numbered, and must have fallen back, but for the 
timely aid of Custer's brigade of Torbert's division, 
armed with the Spencer repeating-rifle, the deadly 
tire of which forced the enemy back, and he re- 
treated in great disorder, leaving his dead and 
wounded in the hands of the Union troops. 

On Monday, May 30th, the enemy drove in the 
Union skirmishers on the road leading from C*ld 
Harbor to Old Church Tavern, and attempted a i lid 
on the rear of the Union army. They were beaten 
back, but returning in force towards evening, one 
division of Ewell's corps and two cavalry brigades 
attacked Crawford's division with such determina- 
tion that it was forced back from its position near 
Shady Grove Church, and almost endangered the 
turning of Warren's flank. General Meade ordered 
an attack along the whole line, but only the Second 
Corps received the order before dark. General Han- 
cock, without a moment's delay, dashed upon the 
enemy's skirmish-line, captured the rifle-pits, and 
held them all night. 

Several sharp but brief engagements occurred 
during Monday and Tuesday, the enemy obstinately 
holding the roads running parallel to the Chickahom 
iny, as well as the river bank from near Atlee's Sta- 
tion to Bottom's Bridge. 
28 



326 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

On Wednesday, there was desperate fighting at 
Cold Harbor, which, by the way, was but a single 
building, the Cold Harbor Tavern ; but the position 
was important, as being the junction of the roads 
leading to White House on the east, Dispatch Sta- 
tion and Bottom's Bridge on the south, Eichmond, 
by way of Gaines's Mill, on the west, and Hanover- 
town and New Castle on the north. After a fierce 
conflict and several brilliant charges, the Union 
troops held Cold Harbor, but could not turn the 
enemy's position. They were able, however, to re- 
pulse his every attempt to recover his lost ground, 
but at a heavy cost, the Union loss being near upon 
two thousand. The enemy fighting behind breast- 
works did not suffer so severely, but still their killed 
and wounded were considerable, and six hundred 
prisoners were taken. On Wednesday night, General 
Grant decided to follow up the occupation of Cold 
Harbor, and attempt to push the enemy across the 
Chickahominy, so as to establish a fording-place for 
his own troops. Therefore Hancock, with his Sec- 
ond Corps, was drawn off the right, and marched 
across the lines to the extreme left, reaching that 
point by noon on Thursday. It had been intended 
to make the attack that evening, but a heavy thun- 
der-storm, with torrents of rain, checked the move- 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 327 

ment, and the enemy took advantage of the respite 
to strengthen his works. 

At dawn Sn the 3d of June, the attack was com- 
menced. The assault of Hancock's Second Corps on 
the enemy's lines, on this eventful morning, the bloody 
battle of the Chickahominy, was never surpassed for 
daring, lofty courage, and stubborn persistence, even 
by the gallant action of the same corps at the battle 
of Spottsylvania. In their daring sweep over the 
enemy's works, the troops of Breckinridge were 
driven from the summit, and for a few minutes they 
were masters of the position ; but their eagerness had 
carried them beyond their supporting columns, and 
the enemy noting this, as well as knowing the im- 
portance of the position, launched A. P. Hill's Corps 
upon them, while an enfilading fire played havoc with 
their decimated columns. They were compelled to 
fall back, but did so in good order, carrying with 
them three hundred prisoners and a captured color. 
In spite of a deadly fire, they merely crossed the 
brow of the nearest ridge, where they reformed and 
entrenched, remaining all day within fifty yards of 
the enemy's breastworks. By nightfall the whole 
of the Union lines was advanced to the same position 
and intrenched. For the next nine days, only fifty 
yards apart, there were no more pitched battles, but 



328 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

occasional dashes were made on either side, only to 
be met by heavy artillery and musketry fire. So 
close were the two armies that they could look each 
other in the face, except that every officer or soldier 
who exposed his head was certain to be a target for 
a sharpshooter's bullet. The carnage of the four 
weeks had been terrible on both sides. On the 
Union side two hundred and seventy officers, and 
three thousand seven hundred and thirty-one enlisted 
men had been killed ; seven hundred and forty-seven 
officers, and seventeen thousand three hundred and 
eighty-one men wounded, and eighty-five officers, and 
twenty-nine hundred and twenty-seven men were 
missing, mostly prisoners ; making a total of twenty- 
five thousand one hundred and forty- one killed, 
wounded, and missing. The enemy's losses must have 
been nearly if not quite as heavy, though fighting 
behind breastworks their killed and wounded had 
been less ; still they lost a far larger proportion of 
prisoners. 

In all the battles of this campaign, General Han- 
cock, among the many brave officers of the army, 
was conspicuous for daring, enthusiasm, and steady 
valor. Wherever there was the most difficult work 
to be done, and it was necessary that an attack 
should be made promptly, earnestly, and unflinch- 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 329 

ingly, there Hancock and his gallant Second Corps 
\v r ere sure to be, ready to do and dare anything that 
human courage and skill could undertake. If there 
was one post of greater danger than another, or re- 
quiring those shrewd acts of gallantry which men 
will only attempt under the eye and stimulated by 
the approbation of a beloved and honored com- 
mander, there Hancock was certain to be found, 
encouraging his men to higher exertion and the 
accomplishment of seeming impossibilities. And 
all this time that terrible wound in his thigh — the 
bitter memento of his Gettysburg bravery — was rack- 
ing him, and was soon to force him, for a brief in- 
terval, away from that field in which all his energies, 
all his ideas, were concentrated; but human nature 
must yield sometimes, and the actual reopening of 
his wound forced the brave soldier to retire on the 
19th of June. Before this, however, at midnight of 
June 12 th, he led the advance to Long Bridge, thence 
to and across the James River, doing some desperate 
righting, as the enemy had strongly -fortified posi 
tions. During the 15th, 16th, and 17th, Hancock 
participated in the assaults on Petersburg. On the 
latter day, however, his iron constitution gave way, 
and he was compelled, though with great reluctance, 

to turn over his command to General Birney and 
28* 



330 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

cease active work. He did not, however, leave the 
field. During the greater part of the campaign, 
indeed, he had suffered the most intense pain, being 
compelled to occupy an ambulance during the march, 
and only mounting his horse when his troops came 
in contact with the enemy. The wound was in the 
upper part of the thigh. It had fractured and splin- 
tered the upper part of the femur, and at one time it 
was thought that his life could not be saved. A 
splendid constitution, however, and the best surgical 
skill, had brought him through the worst, and his 
entire recovery would have followed, had not his 
impatience to be with his command in the field 
prevailed over his judgment. The penalty for this 
he now had to pay by a brief retirement from the 
command of the corps. 

On the 27th of June, however, General Hancock 
again took command, and participated in the opera- 
tions before Petersburg until July 26th, when he 
crossed to the north side of James Eiver with his 
corps and a division of cavalry, and assaulted the 
enemy's line at Deep Bottom, capturing the outer 
works, two hundred prisoners, several stands of 
colors, and four pieces of artillery. On the 12th of 
August, he was made Brigadier-General in the Reg- 
ular Army. On the same day, in command of his 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 331 

own, the Second Corps, the Tenth Corps, and a divi 
sion of cavalry, he again assaulted the enemy's lines 
at Deep Bottom. The fighting was severe. A part 
of the enemy's works was carried; three hundred 
prisoners, three stands of colors, and four howitzers 
being taken. On the 25th of August, he fought the 
battle of Eeams's Station, with two divisions of his 
own corps and a division of cavalry, against a greatly 
superior force of the enemy. Another horse was 
shot under him here. 

In this battle the Union forces were heavily out- 
numbered, and the enemy determined and vigorous. 
Miles's division of the Second Corps had been occu- 
pied throughout Monday in breaking up the Weldon 
Kailroad as far as Reams's Station, and was joined at 
night by Gibbon's division of the same corps, who 
finished the work to a point two miles beyond 
Reams's Station, in all a distance of about eleven 
miles. Gregg's cavalry had, meanwhile, covered 
and protected the infantry, and had sharp skirmishes 
with the enemy. On Thursday morning, June 25th, 
Gibbon's division of Hancock's corps moved down 
from Reams's to continue the work of destruction, 
but encountered the enemy's skirmishers, and soon 
afterwards the main body. There was considerable 
skirmishing, but the enemy did not appear to want 



332 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

battle ; and Hancock promptly realized that this was 
merely a demonstration on the part of General A. P. 
Hill to conceal his attack on Miles's division (form- 
erly Barlow's), which was still at Beams' s Station. 
This proved correct, and in the meantime Hancock 
had ordered Gibbon to fall back and form a junction 
with Miles's left, to protect that flank. The cavalry 
followed and covered the left flank and rear. At two 
P. M., the enemy's skirmish line swept forward with 
the usual horrid yells, but, being met by a heavy fire 
of artillery and musketry, fell back in confusion. 
The enemy, having got his batteries into position, 
opened a terrible concentric fire on the Union troops, 
pouring in shell and solid shot without a moment's 
cessation. After maintaining this for nearly half an 
hour, the recurrence of the demoniac yells announced 
a fourth assault, and the enemy's solidly massed 
column, in overwhelming numbers, rushed forward 
with fierce impetuosity. A galling fire of artillery 
and musketry met them point-blank ; but they 
pressed on, and, after a bloody hand-to-hand conflict, 
gained the breastworks and broke the Union lines. 
The centre was gone, but some of the regiments con- 
tinued to fight with marvellous valor. During this 
last attack against Miles, part of Gibbon's division 
was hurried across the circle, under a heavy fire. 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 333 

nearly a mile, to his support. At this moment the 
enemy broke in on the Union left, weakened by Gib- 
bon's withdrawal, and Gibbon's troops were again 
hurried back across the fatal open space, and hurled 
upon the enemy. The sheer weight of the enemy, 
however, bore back the gallant left, except some 
regiments, which were actually cut to pieces on the 
ground they occupied. Gregg's dismounted cavalry 
prevented the enemy's further progress, and soon 
after dark Hancock withdrew, leaving Eeams's Sta- 
tion in the hands of the enemy. The Weldon road, 
however, had been hopelessly destroyed for a long 
distance, and a considerable portion of it was still 
held by our forces. We must now pass on rapidly 
to the battle of Boydton Plank-road, which virtually 
ended General Hancock's active operations at the 
immediate front. 

On the 1st of October, Generals Terry and Kauntz 
made a reconnoissance towards Kichmond, and with 
two brigades of infantry and a few cavalry actually 
penetrated within two miles of the city. This so 
irritated the enemy that a vigorous effort was made 
to turn the right flank of the Army of the James. 
In the meantime General Grant deemed the time 
had come for another blow on Lee's right, accom- 
panying it with a demonstration upon his left. The 



334: WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

troops north of the James were to make a demon- 
stration, while those south were to undertake a com- 
bined movement upon Hatcher's Eun, a small tribu- 
tary of Eowanty Creek, an affluent of the Nottaway 
Eiver. Along this run and the Boydton Plank-road, 
and other roads partly parallel and partly crossing 
it, the enemy's lines of defence ran, protecting his 
communication with Wilmington, Danville, Lynch- 
burg, and other sources of supply. Gr ant's view was, 
if he could obtain possession of that road, he could 
compel the evacuation of Petersburg and Eichmond 
within forty-eight hours. The demonstration was 
not a success, as the enemy laid an ambush trap for 
the Union forces, and although stubborn resistance 
was offered, the troops were compelled to retreat 
with considerable loss. The attack on the position 
was assigned to Hancock's Corps, aided by Gregg's 
cavalry. This force was to march round the enemy's 
right flank, turn it, and seize the line of defences on 
Hatcher's Eun, at the same time that the Fifth and 
Ninth Corps approached and attacked the works in 
front. General Hancock, therefore, drew out of 
camp on Wednesday evening, October 26th, and 
marched across Church Eoad; at 3.30 A. M., on 
Thursday, he reached the Yaughan Eoad, and moved 
along it to Hatcher's Eun, coming to the crossing of 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 335 

that stream at 7.30 A. M. Here a small force at- 
tempted to dispute his passage, but were speedily re- 
pulsed and driven off, the corps proceeding to Boydton 
Plank-road, which it reached by 11.15 A.M. Gregg's 
cavalry joined them here on the left, and Generals 
Grant and Meade came on the field at about the 
same time. Egan's division deployed on the right 
of the Plank-road, facing towards the bridge over 
Hatcher's Kun; Mott's division took the left of 
the road ; De Trobriand's brigade connected with 
Gregg's cavalry, which held the extreme left. 
Eugg's brigade, the advance of Egan's division, 
rushed forward, seized the bridge at Hatcher's Kun, 
and crossed the creek. 

The next point was to carry the enemy's works 
beyond, and for this purpose Egan's division, with 
Beck's battery and Walliston's brigade of Mott's 
division supporting, pressed onward. At this junc- 
ture the firing of the Fifth Corps was heard on the 
right, and it was expected that they would sweep 
round and form a junction with the Second Corps, 
but the perplexing nature of the roads — a perfect 
maze — prevented this, and the enemy were not 
slow to take advantage of the opportunity. About 
four P. M., Mahone's division of Hill's corps broke 
in upon Hancock's right flank, and, dashing through 



336 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

with, irresistible fury, swept off one section of Beck's 
battery, then crossing the Boydton Plank-road, bore 
down on Egan's division. Egan promptly changed 
front with his own and McAllister's brigades, and, 
with the aid of Beck's, Roder's, and Hesper's bat- 
teries, repulsed the enemy, after a desperate conflict. 
Hancock, in the meantime, by prompt and skilful 
handling, had restored his line, and, with Eg AN, 
then fell on Mahone's flank and drove him back, 
compelling him to abandon the guns he had cap- 
tured, and leave behind him also three flags and five 
or six hundred prisoners. In this engagement the 
Second Corps and the cavalry lost about nine hundred 
killed and wounded and four hundred prisoners. The 
rain was falling in torrents and ammunition and rations 
were growing short, though orders for a four days' sup- 
ply had been given. The Second Corps and the cavalry, 
therefore, retraced their way to camp. In the mean- 
while the Fifth and Ninth. Corps had not fared much 
better, except that they had inflicted a loss of about 
a thousand on the enemy and lost themselves about 
four hundred. Altogether, it was estimated that the 
movements on both sides of the James, which had 
promised so fairly, had cost the Union army some 
three thousand men, and had really effected nothing, 
in spite of brilliant daring and dauntless valor. From 



HIS CLOSING BATTLES. 337 

this time forward, for three months, there were but 
petty skirmishes and occasional conflicts along the 
lines of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of 
the James. In the meantime, the President saw 
other work for General Hancock, and detaching 
him, on November 26th, from the Army of the 
Potomac, he ordered him to Washington, where his 
ability and peculiar qualities could best serve his 
country in the particular needs of the hour, by re- 
cruiting the veterans of the war. 
29 w 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

In Washington — The Organization of the First Army Veteran 
Corps — Hancock a Major- General — In Charge of the Middle 
Military Division — He has Charge of Washington after the As- 
sassination of President Lincoln — The Surratt Matter. 

AT this period, November, 1864, a vast number 
of the veteran soldiers had served their enlist- 
ment term, and it was deemed by President Lincoln 
and his advisers that this valuable element might be 
again induced to take the field ; bat they could not 
be expected to re-enter the service in regiments re- 
cruited since their own enlistment. After anxious 
deliberation, it was considered that a corps consist- 
ing of veterans alone could be raised if a veteran 
General, having the esteem and confidence of the 
men, should be placed at the head of it. President 
Lincoln at once fixed upon Hancock, who was made 
Brigadier-General, U. S. A., to date from August 12, 
1864. He was, therefore, summoned, as we have 
previously mentioned, to Washington on November 
27, and from that time until February 27, 1865, was 
actively engaged in raising a new First Army Corps. 

(338) 



THE FIRST ARMY VETERAN CORPS. 339 

The anticipations of the President proved correct, 
and the old soldiers flocked to his standard with 
alacrity, the corps being raised to 50,000 strong. 
The selection of Hancock for this task was a happy 
inspiration, based upon the length and severity of 
his service, and the high estimation of the rank and 
file, to whom he was at once an example and an 
object of adoration. This work completed, General 
Hancock was again ordered to the front in command 
of the Middle Military Division, making his head- 
quarters at Winchester, the division embracing the 
Departments of West Yirginia, Pennsylvania, and 
Washington, and the force under his command, in- 
cluding the Army of the Shenandoah, amounting to 
about 100,000 men of all arms. With such a force 
of veterans and under such a military genius, it was 
expected that at a decisive moment a blow could be 
struck in either direction; and Hancock was, there- 
fore, under orders to be ready to move at short no- 
tice either on Lynchburg, to co-operate with the 
Army of the Potomac, or to take transports for the 
Southern coast, to co-operate with General Sherman. 
On March 13, 1865, he was breveted Major-General, 
U. S. A., " for gallant and meritorious services at the 
battle of Spottsylvania, Va." 

The events of the war had, meanwhile, taken 



340 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON 

gigantic strides, and the sudden breaking of Lee's 
line at Petersburg, followed by the surrender of that 
General at Appomattox Court- House, on April 9, 
1865, rendered neither of these movements neces- 
sary. General Hancock remained in the Yalley of 
the Shenandoah until the assassination of President 
Lincoln, on April 14, 1865, threw the whole coun- 
try into a state of dread and terror. He was imme- 
diately summoned to Washington, and placed in 
command of the Federal troops there. His presence 
at once calmed the apprehensions of the public, for 
it was felt that there was a man at the helm who 
could be relied upon to be cool, resolute, and brave 
in any emergency. His position here placed upon 
him the painful duty of directing the carrying out 
of the death-sentence upon Mrs. Surratt and others 
convicted of participation in the plot for the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln. Upon this point a 
most unworthy attempt has been made to throw 
odium upon General Hancock, but common sense 
and common justice alike forbid such malicious 
scandals any weight with thinking people. He was 
military commander, having but President Johnson 
and the Secretary of War as his superiors. With 
the details of the guarding and care of the prisoners 
he had nothing whatever to do. They were con- 



THE FIRST ARMY VETERAN CORPS. 341 

fined in the arsenal, and the commander there was 
General Hartkanft, who took the position by order 
of the Secretary of War. A military commission, 
ordered by the President, tried the prisoners, found 
them guilty, condemned some of them to death, and 
the findings of the military court were approved by 
the President. It was, unquestionably, to be la- 
mented that they should have been thus tried. The 
conviction of the guilty could, in all probability, 
have been effected by a jury ; but the nation was in 
a bloody struggle for existence, and martial law pre- 
vailed. It was particularly to be lamented that one 
of the condemned persons was a woman, and the 
regret is the deeper when, in calmer times, people 
who considered the case carefully are convinced that, 
so far as the crime of assassination was concerned, she 
was guiltless. The execution had been ordered for 
the 8th day of July. On the 6th, Messrs. Aiken 
and Clampitt, the counsel of Mrs. Surratt, went 
before United States Justice Wylie and procured 
a writ of habeas corpus. This was served by the 
marshal of the district on General Hancock, as the 
military head of the division. As was his duty, he 
forwarded it to his superior, the President of the 
United States and the Commander-in-Chief. Presi- 
29* 



342 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

dent Johnson at once issued the following procla- 
mation : 

Executive Office, July 7th, 1865. — To Major- 
General Hancock, Commander, etc. I, Andrew John- 
son, President of the United States, do hereby declare 
that the writ of habeas corpus has been heretofore 
suspended in such cases as this ; and I do hereby 
especially suspend this writ, and direct that you pro- 
ceed and execute the order heretofore given you 
upon the judgment of the Military Commission, and 
you will give this order in return to this writ. 

This was indorsed on the writ, and, accompanied 
by United States Attorney -General Speed, General 
Hancock presented himself before Justice Wylie, 
and made return to the writ. The execution took 
place the following day. General Hancock saw that 
the only hope for Mrs. Surratt lay in the power of 
her daughter to move the President's heart ; and he 
so informed the daughter, and gave her every facility 
in his power to gain access to the President. So 
great was his anxiety in regard to the looked-for 
pardon or reprieve, that he placed a line of mounted 
sentinels from the White House to the place of exe- 
cution, that the words of grace, if spoken at the last 



THE FIRST ARMY VETERAN CORPS. 343 

minute, should go surely and swiftly. But no such 
words were spoken, and, to the now almost universal 
regret of the people, Mrs. Surratt died. 

It is barely necessary to add anything to the sim- 
ple statement that throughout the whole of this un- 
happy business General Hancock did nothing that 
the strict letter of his duty, did not demand, and 
an avoidance of which would have contradicted the 
whole tenor of his career; in so far as the man could 
suppress the soldier in obedience to the dictates of 
humanity, he yielded to that impulse, even at a time 
when by so doing his own fealty might have been 
questioned in the then heated state of public feeling. 
An interview, however, since the Cincinnati nomina- 
tion, which a correspondent of the New York Herald 
had with the Eight Keverend Bishop Keane, elicited 
evidence which removes even a shadow of doubt as 
to the opinions entertained by those who are best 
qualified to speak on the subject. The correspondent, 
after ascertaining the Bishop's views, which were that 
the charges against General Hancock had been dis- 
proved as preposterous and false, was asked as to a 
letter which Father Walter, of St. Patrick's Church, 
Washington, who had attended Mrs. Surratt through 
all her affliction till the last moment, was alleged to 
have written entirely exculpating General Hancock 



344 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

from all responsibility in the matter. He replied : 
" I happened to be in Washington about the time, a 
few months ago, when these charges were reiterated 
by the press against General Hancock. I was there 
for the purpose of delivering a lecture. Father Wal- 
ter then had a consultation with me regarding those 
charges, and asked my advice as to what he should 
do in the premises. He stated in the most emphatic 
language that there was no truth whatever in the 
charges. Father Walter was the spiritual adviser 
and confessor of Mrs. Surratt. I told him that it was 
his duty to truth and to history, as well to General 
Hancock, that he should write the letter which he 
did in reference to the matter." 

"Of course," the Bishop again remarked, "the 
charges were preposterously false, and devoid of even 
a shadow of truth." 

Upon this subject we may have more to say at a 
further stage of our history ; but it was necessary 
here to allude to it in its order. We must now re- 
turn to his active career. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Sketches and Anecdotes — " Jineing the Pint" — Hancock as a 
Cadet, as a Junior Officer, and as a Commander — "J always 
Know where to find Hancock." {Gen. Grant.) — The Magic In- 
fluence of his Presence on the Field. 

BEFOKE following our hero into other phases of 
his eventful career, and taking up his record as 
a statesman and an ardent supporter of Constitutional 
law, it may be interesting to take a retrospective 
glance — to incorporate just here some anecdotes and 
sketches illustrative of his ability, his goodness of 
heart, and his military genius. We commence with 
" The Lawyer's Son " 

AS A CADET. 

There was nothing remarkable in his cadetship. 
He is remembered by those who knew him at West 
Point as a quiet, unassuming Pennsylvanian youth, 
for whom no special credit was claimed. He was 
strict in conforming to the rules, quick in acquiring 
learning, ambitious to excel in drill and discipline, 
fluent in expressing what he learned, amiable in his 

(345) 



846 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

deportment, adding some graceful accomplishments 
to his list of studies as a draughtsman, and excelling 
as a sketcher of scenery and characters, as is shown 
by his drawing in another part of this volume. The 
whole of that sketch, to which the reader is referred, 
was drawn by General Hancock while a cadet at 
"West Point. It is designed to hit off a class of per- 
sons who were in the habit of boring the cadets, by 
applying to be received into the Academy. The 
scene is a literal one, as true as it is graphic. 

A greenhorn approaches a drummer, who is gazing 
at him with astonishment, and asks : 

" How d'ye do, boy ? "Where 's your capting ? I 
want ter jine the Pint ! " 

The looks of the parties around, the marching of 
the other applicants, who, in the distance are seen to 
be put through the motions by the cadet officer of 
the day ; the groupings of the scene, the dresses and 
expressions, are all precisely as executed by Cadet 
Hancock, and preserved in his Album. 

He graduated with credit as a cadet, enjoying the 
confidence and esteem of all his classmates. It is 
due to West Point Academy to say that he owes all 
that he is as a military man to the superior culture 
and discipline of that institution. 



SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 347 

AS A JUNIOR OFFICER. 

It is not by any means pretended that there was 
anything very remarkable in young Lieutenant Han- 
cock, when he took his place in the line of the Sixth 
United States Regular Infantry. His fellow officers 
around him had equal positions in the military school 
they had just left. Some of them had graduated with 
higher honors. He was fighting under the same flag 
with them when he drew his sword, for the first time, 
in battle, on the shores of Mexico. All that need be 
said of him as a junior officer is this — he did his 
duty. 

AS A COMMANDER. 

In this position he was ever found at his post, dis- 
charging his duty faithfully. He was severely tried, 
and found equal, as a patriot commander, to the great 
cause in which he had enlisted with all his heart. 

It is not the slightest disparagement to his com- 
patriots in this noble struggle, to quote the appro- 
priate testimony of Lieutenant-General Grant : 

" I always know where to find Hancock." 

When he returned to his corps, in the spring of 
1864, and was preparing to lead the advance, his 
officers and men gathered around him, and tendered 
him a voluntary salute of welcome, with music and 
banners. A song of congratulation on his return 



348 WTNFIELD, THE LA WYERS SON. 

was composed for the occasion, and sung with loud 
acclaim by the strong voices of his thousands of gal- 
lant soldiers. The following is the closing verse of 
this heart-felt, soldierly welcome : 

" Welcome back, Oh ! General, brave, 

Welcome to your corps again ! 
Trumpets sound and banners wave, 

Shouts ascend from gallant men. 
Many a hard-contested field 

Proved you a true-hearted man : 
Ay ! many a field saw foemen yield, 

Where Hancock lead the van ! " 

At the terrible conflicts of the Wilderness, when 
the men of the Second Corps were falling by thou- 
sands, their patriotic devotion to him and their cause 
was poured out with their life's blood. 

In one of the field hospitals we met a group of 
these noble fellows, just brought in, wounded, bleed- 
ing, dying. 

" How goes the battle, boys ? " asked one of these 
gallant sufferers of a wounded comrade, borne from 
the front. 

"All right ! " replied the bleeding hero. " "We 're 
driving them ! " 

" They 've broke in upon us pretty rough ! " said 
a true Yankee, as he limped along, with a dismal 
wound, to his stretcher. 



SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 349 

" Ar-r-ah ! but they '11 niver git thrrough the ould 
Sicond Cowrps. ! You may bit ye're life o' that, my 
boy!" cried a brave Irishman, at the top of a voice 
half stifled with the flow of blood in his throat. 

"Lie still, Maurice," quietly and soothingly said 
one of the surgeons. " You must lose your arm, my 
good fellow ! " 

"Lose my arrm, is it?" returned the enthusiastic 
Hibernian, more excited than ever. "Will! I'm 
ready to do that for Hancock, any day ; and, if need 
be, I'll lose both my arms for the Union. Hur-r-ah 
for the Stars and Stripes, my boys ! and the Sicond 
Cowrps foriver!" 

A break had occurred on a road in our lines, 
through which the enemy pressed with all the com- 
bined power within their reach. They anticipated a 
certain victory as they swooped down on our unpro- 
tected columns, and planted their colors defiantly on 
our front. At this perilous moment Hancock dashed 
forward, with the greatest promptness and energy, 
determined on a rescue of his troops. 

Hat in hand, he raised himself in his stirrups, and, 
spurring forward, with his staff around him, shouted, 
at the top of his voice : 

"We must hold this road to the last extremity I 
Stand your ground, men ! Stand your ground ! " 
30 



350 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

" The j are enfilading our breastworks ! " exclaimed 
one of his command. 

"Then we must meet them behind the breast- 
works, and drive them out ! " continued Hancock, 
with tremendous emphasis. 

Turning to a body of troops who seemed disposed 
to waver, he thundered : 

"No flinching there! What can the country hope 
from cowards?" 

No better proof of the valor with which he fought 
his command, and of the brave alacrity with which 
they followed his lead, can be found than the well- 
established fact that the Second Corps lost not less 
than thirty thousand men from the opening of the 
campaign with Grant to the front of Petersburg. 
Twenty-five thousand of these gallant fellows had fol- 
lowed him to victory and death before he had crossed 
the James Eiver. 

When, on another occasion, already alluded to, be- 
fore Petersburg, in which his corps was overpowered 
on a portion of its lines, he left his sick couch, and 
placed himself at their head, the effect of his pres- 
ence, though scarcely able to sit on his horse, was 
magical. 

" Hancock ! Hancock is here ! " rang along the 
front. 



SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 351 

" Hancock is sick ! " was the response. 

" Sick or well, lie 's with us ! Don't you hear his 
voice ? " 

At that moment his clarion notes sounded out as 
strong and clear as ever : 

" Kally, men ! rally ! By the left flank — march ! 
Steady ! — steady ! to the front ! " 

His orders being rapidly obeyed, quickly came 
another : 

" Charge ! " 

It was done instantly; the enemy fled, and the 
lost ground was triumphantly retaken. 

During one of the fiercest battles of the Wilder- 
ness, late in the evening, Colonel Carroll, command- 
ing a brigade in his corps, was seriously wounded. 
A previous commander of this brigade, the gallant 
General Alexander Hays, had just been killed, his 
body placed in an ambulance, and carried from the 
field. 

" You are wounded, Colonel Carroll," said Han- 
cock, riding up to his side. 

"Yes, General," replied the Colonel; "but I shall 
not leave the front." 

" Who will command your brigade, Colonel ? " 

" I '11 command it myself, sir ! " promptly added 
the Colonel, rising and giving the salute. 



352 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

It should be remembered that through all the 
vigorous campaign of Hancock with Gkant, he was 
himself a wounded man. He did not complain, or 
allow his duties to be in any way neglected ; but his 
wound was still serious, and would have caused many 
other men to have retired from the fight. When 
laid aside in his tent, he still maintained his hold on 
his command of the Second Corps. Nothing of im- 
portance was allowed to transpire without his notice. 
A rest of a few days brought him again into the 
saddle, and to the front of battle. A piece of bone 
was taken from his wound, where it had been chafing 
his flesh constantly, and depriving him, at times, of 
the sleep so much needed by a man in such a re- 
sponsible position. But he would not, and did not, 
yield his post in the fights until completely pros- 
trated by disease. 

The soldiers who served under others always 
united to bear testimony to his worth. 

"Did you ever serve under General Hancock?" 
we inquired of an old war-worn veteran just from 
Louisiana. 

"No, sir," he answered us; "I will not tell a lie. 
I never served under General Hancock; but, sir, 
he's a noble man." 



SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 353 

Such uniform testimony as this from the men of 
other corps is peculiarly valuable. 

The rapidity of the movements of Hancock as a 
commander is shown most strikingly in his position 
in support of Warren, in the battle fought early in 
May, 1864, near Parker's store. The moment the 
order for support came, his whole corps was in mo- 
tion. By two o'clock of that day he had marched 
the whole distance from his position on the Brock 
road, and precisely at the time designated he was in 
line of battle, fronting the enemy. As the command 
marched, often at the double quick, the sound of the 
enemy's guns in the distance, responding to those of 
Warren, quickened the pace of the corps. They 
rushed on, with shouts that made the welkin ring, 
the music pouring forth its loudest strains, and the 
colors flapping proudly in the rushing air. It was 
just like Hancock and his gallant men. He had 
command, at that moment, of troops from nearly 
every corps in the whole army, and handled them 
with most consummate skill. 

During the height of this engagement Hancock's 
line was the grand centre of attraction. All his 
movements were watched with the keenest interest 
by Lieutenant-General Grant and General Meade. 
His caution in every movement was equal to his 
30* X 



354 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

valor. He was very careful not to extend his lines 
too far, especially on his left, as he was wisely appre- 
hensive — as it proved afterwards correctly so — that 
Longstreet might make a sudden attack in that direc- 
tion. By holding his strong position, and keeping 
his men well in hand, he beat back the enemy until 
sufficient reinforcements arrived to secure a final 
victory. 

His conduct on this tremendous field is described 
by those who saw it as magnificent. Prompt in 
arriving, ready, in a moment after, for fight, he 
dashed at once on the wily foe. His labors in mass- 
ing his men had been herculean. "With a quickness 
of perception, a grasp of thought, peculiar to his 
character, he had divined the whole purpose of the 
enemy, and was instantly prepared to meet it, at every 
point. Nothing of the kind could be more exciting 
than the whole scene. His entire combined com- 
mand was to be hurled in solid columns on the enemy. 
How vast the importance that his every movement 
should be directed right ! A single mistake, in such 
a crisis, might derange his whole plan, and lose the 
day for his country. 

As quickly as he had moved his gallant troops, so 
quickly he formed them in line of battle ; and just 
as quickly he issued his orders. It was the thunder- 



SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 355 

bolt of war launched with the electric flash from the 
wire in his hand. It was the crash of the avalanche 
of battle that his skill had poised on the towering 
cliff of his noble purpose. It was the roll of a wave 
of valor poured forth from his sea of thought, that 
was to bear down all before it ; the swoop of an eagle 
from a mountain eyrie of vision, where his eye had 
grasped all the field, and was sure of his prey. No 
wonder that he conquered. 

But, with all this brilliancy of execution, the 
caution of Hancock was fully equal to his dashing 
courage. Not a point was neglected. Not a line 
was left uncovered. Not a defence was allowed to 
remain unavailable. His heroism, that knew no fear, 
shone side by side with his modesty and grace, on 
that terrific area of carnage. There was impetuosity ; 
but it was sobered by calmness. There was invinci- 
bility ; but it was graced by modesty. There was 
enthusiasm, rising to its utmost height ; but it was 
controlled by a wise caution. There was the trans- 
port of action, the shout of command, in the midst 
of the roar and clangor of conflict; but it was 
chastened by a prudence that valued human life, and 
that would not needlessly waste or even put it in 
peril. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Hancock a Major- General — His Military Command in the South — 
The Celebrated ''General Orders No. 40" — His Support of 
Civil Authority — Military Rule Subservient to Constitutional 
Law — The Civilian Soldier Demonstrating his Statesmanship. 

GENERAL HANCOCK was placed in the so- 
called Middle Department, with headquarters 
at Baltimore, July 18, 1865, and on August 10, 1866, 
was transferred to the Department of the Missouri, 
with headquarters at St. Louis. On May 30, 1866, 
the thanks of Congress were tendered to Major- 
General Hancock " for his gallant, meritorious, and 
conspicuous share in the great and decisive victory of 
Gettysburg," and on July 26, 1866, he was made a 
full Major-General, United States Army. He served 
on the Board for retiring disabled officers at Phila- 
delphia, 1865-66, and on the Board to make recom- 
mendations in regard to ordnance from January to 
Jane, 1866. In 1867 he was engaged upon expe- 
ditions against hostile Indians on the plains of Kansas, 
Colorado, and the Indian Territory. With the as- 

(356) 



HIS MILITARY COMMAND IN THE SOUTH 357 

sumption of this command his purely military career 
was closed, and opportunity began to be afforded for 
his appearance in another character — that of a skilled 
administrator and far-seeing statesman. 

n the general shuffle of military commands which 
was effected by President Johnson in November, 1867, 
General Hancock was commissioned as Commander 
of the Fifth Military District and the Department of 
the Gulf, with headquarters at New Orleans. The 
powers of a military commander in the South at that 
chaotic epoch of reconstruction were large and in- 
definite. It is one of General Hancock's principal 
titles to civic renown that he took a statesmanlike 
view of his powers and responsibilities. His repu- 
tation was that of a somewhat stern disciplinarian, 
but at New Orleans he showed himself superior to 
the passion for discipline. The wisdom and policy 
of the legislation under which the South was par- 
celled out, under the rule of several irresponsible 
military dictators, will not now be seriously main- 
tained, but at that time the passions of the Northern 
States were too violently excited by the contest be- 
tween President Johnson and Congress to admit of 
impartial reasoning upon the proper line of demar- 
cation between military and civic powers. The con- 
stitutions of ten Southern States had been nullified 



358 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

by Congress, and personal liberty was everywhere in 
jeopardy. 

Under these circumstances, the advent of General 
Hancock at New Orleans was marked by the pro- 
mulgation of a document which rang through the 
South like a new Declaration of Independence, and 
was greeted with delirious enthusiasm as the dawn 
of a happier day. On taking command at New Or- 
leans, General Hancock issued his famous " General 
Orders No. 40," the text of which is as follows : — 

" Headquarters Fifth Military District, 
New Orleans, La., Nov. 29, 1867. 

"I. In accordance with General Orders No. 81, Headquarters 
of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C, August 
27, 1867, Major-General W. S. Hancock hereby assumes command 
of the Fifth Military District and of the Department composed of 
the States of Louisiana and Texas. 

"II. The General commanding is gratified to learn that peace 
and quiet reign in this department. It will be his purpose to pre- 
serve this condition of things. As a means to this great end he 
regards the maintenance of the civil authorities in the faithful 
execution of the laws as the most efficient under existing circum- 
stances. 

"In war it is indispensable to repel force by force and over- 
throw and destroy opposition to lawful authority. But when in- 
surrectionary force has been overthrown and peace established, 
and the civil authorities are ready and willing to perform their 
duties, the military power should cease to lead, and the civil ad- 



HIS MILITARY COMMAND IN THE SOUTH. 359 

ministration resume its natural and rightful dominion. Solemnly 
impressed with these views, the General announces that the great 
principles of American liberty still are the lawful inheritance of 
this people, and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, the 
habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech and 
the natural rights of persons and the rights of property, must be 
preserved. 

" Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperity 
and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest induce- 
ments to peace and order. Crimes and offences committed in this 
District must be referred to the consideration and judgment of the 
regular civil tribunals, and those tribunals will be supported in 
their lawful jurisdiction. 

"Should there be violations of existing laws which are not in- 
quired into by the civil magistrates, or should failures in the ad- 
ministration of justice by the courts be complained of, the cases 
will be reported to these headquarters, when such orders will be 
made as may be deemed necessary. 

"While the General thus indicates his purpose to respect the 
liberties of the people, he wishes all to understand that armed in- 
surrections or forcible resistance to the law will be instantly sup- 
pressed by arms. 

"By command of Major-General W. S. Hancock. 

"W. G. MITCHELL, 
" Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General." 

This order, so distinctly declaring the subordina- 
tion of the military to the civil power, was followed 
by others equally emphatic. An order dated De- 
cember 5th contains the following clauses : 

" The Commanding General has been officially in- 



360 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

formed that the administration of justice, and espe- 
cially of criminal justice, in the courts, is clogged, if 
not entirely frustrated, by the enforcement of para- 
graph No. 2 of the military order numbered special 
orders 125, current series, from these headquarters, 
issued on the 24th of August, A. D. 1867, relative to 
the qualification of persons to be placed on the jury 
lists of the State of Louisiana. To determine who 
shall and who shall not be jurors appertains to the 
legislative power, and nntil the laws in existence 
regulating this subject shall be amended or changed 
by that department of the civil government which 
the constitutions of all the States under our repub- 
lican system vest with that power, it is deemed best 
to carry out the will of the people as expressed in the 
last legislative act on this subject. The qualification 
of a juror under the law is a proper subject for the 
decision of the courts. The Commanding General, 
in the discharge of the trust reposed in him, will 
maintain the just power of the judiciary, and is un- 
willing to permit the civil authorities and laws to be 
embarrassed by military interference. It is ordered 
that said paragraph, which relates to the qualifica- 
tions of persons to be placed on the jury lists of the 
State of Louisiana, be and the same is hereby re- 
voked." 



HIS MILITARY COMMAND IN THE SOUTH. 361 

An election for delegates to a Constitntional Con- 
vention was ordered in Texas at this time, and 
among other provisions was this: 

" Military interference with elections, ' unless it 
shall be necessary to keep the peace at the polls,' is 
prohibited by law, and no soldiers will be allowed to 
appear at any polling-place, unless as citizens of the 
State they are registered as voters, and then only for 
the purpose of voting ; but the commanders of posts 
will be prepared to act promptly if the civil authori- 
ties fail to preserve the peace." 

Another order has reference to the applications 
made at headquarters, "implying the existence of 
an arbitrary authority in the Commanding General 
touching purely civil controversies : " 

" The rights of litigants do not depend on the views 
of the General. They are to be judged and settled 
according to the laws. Arbitrary power, such as he 
has been urged to assume, has no existence here. It 
is not found in the laws of Louisiana or Texas. It 
cannot be derived from any act or acts of Congress. 
It is restrained by a constitution and prohibited from 
action in many particulars. The Major-General com- 
manding takes occasion to repeat that, while disclaim- 
ing judicial functions in civil cases, he can suffer no 
31 



362 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

forcible resistance to trie execution of processes of 
the courts." 

On the 9th of March, 1868, these emphatic decla- 
rations were supplemented by the letter to Governor 
E. M. Pease, of Texas, given in the following chap- 
ter, a document at once able, forcible, cool, and 
logical. It surpassed all he had previously written, 
and deserves to go on record as one of the most 
statesmanlike papers ever issued at a time of fer- 
ment, when prejudice had usurped the functions of 
reason, and passion had warped judgment to a peril- 
ous extent. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The Celebrated Letter to Governor Pease, of Texas — General Han- 
cock's Careful Exposition of the Relation between the Military and 
the Civil Administration — A Valuable and Remarkable Document. 

THE following letter, which deserves a chapter to 
itself, will bear careful study. It exhibits Gen- 
eral Hancock in the light of a thorough statesman, 
and proves him as capable to handle the destinies of 
a people in time of peace as he had before proved 
himself able to defend their liberties and their honor 
in time of war. 

GENERAL HANCOCK'S LETTER. 

" Headquarters Fifth Military District, 
New Orleans, La., March 9, 1868. 

" To His Excellency, E. M. Pease, Governor of Texa^: 
"Sir — Your communication of the 17th January 
last was received in due course of mail (the 27th 
January), but not until it had been widely circulated 
by the newspaper press. To such a letter — written 
and published for manifest purposes — it has been my 

(363) 



364 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

intention to reply as soon as leisure from more im- 
portant business would permit. 

" Your statement that the act of Congress ' to pro- 
vide for the more efficient government of the rebel 
States' declares that whatever government existed 
in Texas was provisional; that peace and order 
should be enforced; that Texas should be part of 
the Fifth Military District, and subject to military 
power ; that the President should appoint an officer 
to command in said district, and detail a force to 
protect the rights of person and property, suppress 
insurrection and violence, and punish offenders, either 
by military commission or through the action of 
local civil tribunals, as in his judgment might seem 
best, will not be disputed. One need only read the 
act to perceive it contains such provisions. But 
how all this is supposed to have made it my duty to 
order the military commission you requested, you 
have entirely failed to show. The power to do a 
thing, if shown, and the propriety of doing it, are 
often very different matters. You observe you are 
at a loss to understand how a government, without 
representation in Congress or a militia force, and 
subject to military power, can be said to be in the 
full exercise of all its proper powers. You. do not 
reflect that this government, created or permitted 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 365 

by Congress, has all the powers which the act in- 
tends, and may fully exercise them accordingly. If 
you think it ought to have more powers ; should be 
allowed to send members to Congress ; wield a militia 
force; and possess yet other powers, your complaint 
is not to be preferred against me, but against Con- 
gress, who made it what it is. 

" As respects the issue between us, any question as 
to what Congress ought to have done has no perti- 
nence. You admit the act of Congress authorizes me 
to try an offender by military commission, or allow 
the local civil tribunals to try, as I shall deem best ; 
and you cannot deny the act expressly recognizes 
such local civil tribunals as legal authorities for the 
purpose specified. When you contend there are no 
legal local tribunals for any purpose in Texas, you 
must either deny the plain reading of the act of Con- 
gress or the power of Congress to pass the act. 

" You next remark that you dissent from my decla- 
ration, ' that the country (Texas) is in a state of pro- 
found peace,' and proceed to state the grounds of 
your dissent. They appear to me not a little ex- 
traordinary. I quote your words : * It is true there 
no longer exists here (Texas) any organized resistance 
to the authority of the United States.' ' But a large 
majority of the white population who participated in 
81* 



366 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

the late rebellion are embittered against the Govern- 
ment, and yield to it an unwilling obedience.' Never- 
theless, you concede they do yield it obedience. You 
proceed : 

" ' None of this class have any affection for the 
Government, and very few any respect for it. They 
regard the legislation of Congress on the subject of 
reconstruction as unconstitutional and hostile to their 
interests, and consider the government now existing 
here under authority of the United States, as an 
usurpation on their rights. They look on the eman- 
cipation of their late slaves, and the disfranchisement 
of a portion of their own class, as an act of insult 
and oppression.' 

" And this is all you have to present for proof that 
war and not peace prevails in Texas ; and hence it 
becomes my duty — so you suppose — to set aside the 
local civil tribunals, and enforce the penal code 
against citizens by means of military commissions. 

" My dear sir, I am not a lawyer, nor has it been 
my business, as it may have been yours, to study the 
philosophy of state-craft and politics. But I may lay 
claim, after an experience of more than half a life- 
time, to some poor knowledge of men, and some ap- 
preciation of what is necessary to social order and 
happiness. And for the future of our common 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 367 

country, I could devoutly wish that no great number 
of our people have yet fallen in with the views you 
appear to entertain. Woe be to us whenever it shall 
come to pass that the power of the magistrate — civil 
or military — is permitted to deal with the mere 
opinions or feelings of the people. 

" I have been accustomed to believe that sentiments 
of respect or disrespect, and feelings of affection, love, 
or hatred, so long as not developed into acts in vio- 
lation of law, were matters wholly beyond the puni- 
tory power of human tribunals. 

" I will maintain that the entire freedom of thought 
and speech, however acrimoniously indulged, is con- 
sistent with the noblest aspirations of man, and the 
happiest condition of his race. 

" When a boy, I remember to have read a speech 
of Lord Chatham, delivered in Parliament. It was 
during our Eevolutionary War, and related to the 
policy of employing the savages on the side of Brit- 
ain. You may be more familiar with the speech 
than I am. If I am not greatly mistaken, his lord- 
ship denounced the British Government— his gov- 
ernment — in terms of unmeasured bitterness. He 
characterized its policy as revolting to every senti- 
ment of humanity and religion, proclaimed it cov- 
ered with disgrace, and vented his eternal abhor- 



368 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

rence of it and its measures. It may, I think, be 
safely asserted that a majority of the British nation 
concurred in the views of Lord Chatham. But 
whoever supposed that profound peace was not ex- 
isting in that kingdom, or that government had any 
authority to question the absolute right of the oppo- 
sition to express their objections to the propriety 
of the king's measures in any words or to any extent 
they pleased ? It would be difficult to show that the 
opponents of the Government in the days of the 
elder Adams, or Jefferson, or Jackson, exhibited for 
it either 'affection ' or ' respect.' You are conversant 
with the history of our past parties and political 
struggles touching legislation on alienage, sedition, 
the embargo, national banks, our wars with Eng- 
land and Mexico, and cannot be ignorant of the fact 
that for one party to assert that a law or system of 
legislation is unconstitutional, oppressive, and usurpa- 
tive is not a new thing in the United States. That 
the people of Texas consider acts of Congress un- 
constitutional, oppressive, or insulting to them is of 
no consequence to the matter in hand. The Presi- 
dent of the United States has announced his opinion 
that these acts of Congress are unconstitutional. 
The Supreme Court, as you are aware, not long ago 
decided unanimously that a certain military commis- 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 369 

sion was unconstitutional. Our people everywhere, 
in every State, without reference to the side they 
took during the rebellion, differ as to the constitu- 
tionality of these acts of Congress. How the matter 
really is, neither you nor I may dogmatically affirm. 
" If you deem them constitutional laws, and bene- 
ficial to the country, you not only have the right to 
publish your opinions, but it might be your bounden 
duty as a citizen to do so. Not less is it the privilege 
and duty of any and every citizen, wherever residing, 
to publish his opinion freely and fearlessly on this 
and every question which he thinks concerns his 
interest. This is merely in accordance with the prin- 
ciples of our free government ; and neither you nor 
I would wish to live under any other. It is time 
now, at the end of almost two years from the close 
of the war, we should begin to recollect what manner 
of people we are ; to tolerate again free, popular dis- 
cussion, and extend some forbearance and consider- 
ation to opposing views. The maxims that in all 
intellectual contests truth is mighty, and must pre- 
vail, and that error is harmless, when reason is left 
free to combat it, are not only sound, but salutary. 
It is a poor compliment to the merits of such a cause, 
that its advocates would silence opposition by force ; 
and generally those only who are in the wrong will 

Y 



370 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

resort to this ungenerous means. I am confident you 
will not commit your serious judgment to the prop- 
osition that any amount of discussion, or any sort of 
opinions, however unwise in your judgment ; or any 
assertion or feeling, however resentful or bitter, not 
resulting in a breach of law, can furnish justification 
for your denial, that profound peace exists in Texas. 
You might as well deny that profound peace exists 
in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California, 
Ohio, and Kentucky, where a majority of the people 
differ with a minority on these questions ; or that 
profound peace exists in the House of Kepresenta- 
tives, or the Senate, at Washington, or in the Su- 
preme Court, where all these questions have been 
repeatedly discussed, and parties respectfully and 
patiently heard. You next complain that in parts 
of the State (Texas) it is difficult to enforce the 
criminal laws ; that sheriffs fail to arrest ; that grand 
jurors will not always indict ; that in some cases the 
military acting in aid of the civil authorities have 
not been able to execute the process of the courts ; 
that petit jurors have acquitted persons adjudged 
guilty by you ; and that other persons charged with 
offences have broke jail and fled from prosecution. 

" I know not how these things are ; but admitting 
your representations literally true, if for such reasons 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 371 

I should set aside the local civil tribunals and order 
a military commission, there is no place in the United 
States where it might not be done with equal pro- 
priety. There is not a State in the Union — North 
or South — where the like facts are not continually 
happening. Perfection is not to be predicated of man 
or his works. No one can reasonably expect certain 
and absolute justice in human transactions ; and if 
military power is to be set in motion, on the princi- 
ples for which you would seem to contend, I fear that 
a civil government, regulated by laws, could have no 
abiding place beneath the circuit of the sun. It is 
rather more than hinted in your letter, that there is 
no local State Government in Texas, and no local 
laws outside of the acts of Congress, which I ought 
to respect ; and that I should undertake to protect 
the rights of persons and property in my own way 
and in an arbitrary "manner. If such be your mean- 
ing, I am compelled to differ with you. After the 
abolition of slavery (an event which I hope no one 
now regrets), the laws of Louisiana and Texas exist- 
ing prior to the rebellion, and not in conflict with 
the acts of Congress, comprised a vast system of 
jurisprudence, both civil and criminal. It required 
not volumes only, but libraries to contain them. 
They laid down principles and precedents for ascer- 



372 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

taming the rights and adjusting the controversies of 
men in every conceivable case. They were the cre- 
ations of great and good and learned men, who had 
labored, in their day, for their kind, and gone down 
to the grave long before our recent troubles, leaving 
their works an inestimable legacy to the human race. 
These laws, as I am informed, connected the civiliza- 
tion of past and present ages, and testified of the jus- 
tice, wisdom, humanity, and patriotism of more than 
one nation, through whose records they descended to 
the present people of these States. I am satisfied, 
from representations of persons competent to judge, 
they are as perfect a system of laws as may be found 
elsewhere, and better suited than any other to the 
condition of this people, for by them they have long 
been governed. Why should it be supposed Con- 
gress has abolished these laws? Why should any 
one wish to abolish them ? They have committed 
no treason, nor are hostile to the United States, nor 
countenance crime, nor favor injustice. On them, as 
on a foundation of rock, reposes almost the entire 
superstructure of social order in these two States. 
Annul this code of local laws, and there would be no 
longer any rights either of person or property here. 
Abolish the local civil tribunals made to execute 
them, and you would virtually annul the laws, except 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 373 

in reference to the very few cases cognizable in the 
Federal courts. Let us for a moment suppose the 
whole local civil code annulled, and that I am left, as 
commander of the Fifth Military District, the sole 
fountain of law and justice. This is the position in 
which you would place me. 

"I am now to protect all rights and redress all 
wrongs. How is it possible for me to do it ? In- 
numerable questions arise, of which I am not only 
ignorant, but for the solution of which a military 
court is entirely unfitted. One would establish a 
will, another a deed ; or the question is one of suc- 
cession, or partnership, or descent, or trust; a suit 
of ejectment or claim to chattels ; or the application 
may relate to robbery, theft, arson, or murder. How 
am I to take the first step in any such matter? If I 
turn to the acts of Congress, I find nothing on the 
subject. I dare not open the authors on the local 
code, for it has ceased to exist. 

" And you tell me that in this perplexing condition 
I am to furnish, by dint of my own hasty and crude 
judgment, the legislation demanded by the vast and 
manifold interests of the people ! I repeat, Sir ! that 
you, and not Congress, are responsible for the mon- 
strous suggestion that there are no local laws or in- 
stitutions here to be respected by me, outside the 

32 



374 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

acts of Congress. I say, unhesitatingly, if it were 
possible that Congress should pass an act abolishing 
the local codes for Louisiana and Texas, — which I do 
not believe, — and it should fall to my lot to supply 
their places with something of my own, I do not see 
how I could do better than follow the laws in force 
here prior to the rebellion, excepting whatever 
therein shall relate to slavery. Power may destroy 
the forms, but not the principles, of justice ; these 
will live in spite even of the sword. History tells 
us that the Koman pandects were lost for a long 
period among the rubbish that war and revolution 
had heaped upon them, but at length were dug out 
of the ruins, again to be regarded as a precious 
treasure. 

" You are pleased to state that ' since the publication 
of (my) General Orders No. 40, there has been a per- 
ceptible increase of crime and manifestations of 
hostile feeling towards the Government and its sup- 
porters,' and add that it is l an unpleasant duty to 
give such a recital of the condition of the country.' 

" You will permit me to say that I deem it im- 
possible the first of these statements can be true, 
and that I do very greatly doubt the correctness of 
the second. General Orders No. 40 was issued at 
New Orleans, November 29, 1867, and your letter 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 375 

was dated January 17, 1868. Allowing time for 
Order No. 40 to reach Texas and become generally 
known, some additional time must have elapsed be- 
fore its effect would be manifested, and yet a further 
time must transpire before you would be able to col- 
lect the evidence of what you term 'the condition 
of the country ; ' and yet, after all this, you would 
have to make the necessary investigations to ascer- 
tain if Order No. 40, or something else, was the cause. 
The time, therefore, remaining to enable you, before 
the 17th of January, 1868, to reach a satisfactory 
conclusion on so delicate and nice a question must 
have been very short. How you proceeded, whether 
you investigated yourself or through third persons, 
and if so, who they were, what their competency and 
fairness, on what evideDce you rested your conclusion, 
or whether you ascertained any facts at all, are points 
upon which your letter so discreetly omits all men- 
tion, that I may well be excused for not relying im- 
plicitly upon it ; nor is my difficulty diminished by 
the fact that in another part of your letter you state 
that ever since the close of the war a very large 
portion of the people have had no affection for the 
Government, but bitterness of feeling only. Had the 
duty of publishing and circulating through the 
country, long before it reached me, your statement 



376 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

that the action of the district commander was in- 
creasing crime and hostile feeling against the Govern- 
ment, been less painful to your sensibilities, it might 
possibly have occurred to you to furnish something 
on the subject in addition to your bare assertion. 

"But what was Order No. 40, and how could it 
have the effect you attribute to it? It sets forth 
that 'the great principles of American liberty are 
still the inheritance of this people, and ever should 
be; that the right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, 
the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, and 
the natural rights of persons and property must be 
preserved.' Will you question the truth of these 
declarations? Which one of these great principles 
of liberty are you ready to deny and repudiate? 
Whoever does so, avows himself the enemy of human 
liberty and the advocate of despotism. Was there 
any intimation in General Orders No. 40 that any 
crimes or breaches of law would be countenanced ? 
You know that there was not. On the contrary, 
you know perfectly well that, while ' the considera- 
tion of crime and offences committed in the Fifth 
Military District was referred to the judgment of 
the regular civil tribunals,' a pledge was given in' 
Order No. 40, which all understood, that tribunals 
would be supported in their lawful jurisdiction, and 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 377 

that 'forcible resistance to law would be instantly 
suppressed by arms.' You will not affirm that this 
pledge has ever been forfeited. There has not been 
a moment since I have been in command of the Fifth 
District when the whole military force in my hands 
has not been ready to support the civil authorities 
of Texas in the execution of the laws. And I am 
unwilling to believe they would refuse to call for 
aid if they needed it. 

" There are some considerations which, it seems 
to me, should cause you to hesitate before indulging 
in wholesale censures against the civil authorities of 
Texas. You are yourself the chief of these author- 
ities, not elected by the people, but created by the 
military. Not long after you had thus come into 
office, all the judges of the Supreme Court of Texas 
— five in number — were removed from office, and 
new appointments made ; twelve of the seventeen 
district judges were removed, and others appointed. 
County officers, more or less, in seventy-five out of 
one hundred and twenty-eight counties, were re- 
moved, and others appointed in their places. It is 
fair to conclude that the executive and judicial civil 
functionaries in Texas are the persons whom you 
desired to fill the offices. It is proper to mention, 
also, that none but registered citizens, and only those 
32* 



378 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

who could take the test-oath, have been allowed to 
serve as jurors during your administration. Now, 
it is against this local government, created by mili- 
tary power prior to my coming here, and so com- 
posed of your personal and political friends, that 
you have preferred the most grievous complaints. 
It is of them that you have asserted they will not 
do their duty ; they will not maintain justice, will 
not arrest offenders, will not punish crimes, and that 
out of one hundred homicides committed in the last 
twelve months, not over ten arrests have been made; 
and by means of such gross disregard of duty, you 
declare that neither property nor life is safe in 
Texas. 

" Certainly you could have said nothing more to 
the discredit of the officials who are now in office. 
If the facts be as you allege, a mystery is presented 
for which I can imagine no explanation. Why is it 
that your political friends, backed up and sustained 
by the whole military power of the United States in 
this district, should be unwilling to enforce the laws 
against that part of the population lately in rebellion, 
and whom you represent as the offenders ? In all the 
history of these troubles, I have never seen or heard 
before of such a fact. I repeat, if the fact be so, it is 
a profound mystery, utterly surpassing my compre- 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 379 

hension. I am constrained to declare that I believe 
you are in very great error as to facts. On careful 
examination at the proper source, I find that at the 
date of your letter four cases only of homicides had 
been reported to these headquarters as having occur- 
red since November 29, 1867, the date of Order 40, 
and these cases were ordered to be tried or investi- 
gated as soon as the reports were received. How- 
ever, the fact of the one hundred homicides may still 
be correct, as stated by you. The Freedman's Bu- 
reau, in Texas, reported one hundred and sixty; 
how many of these were by Indians and Mexicans, 
and how the remainder were classified, is not known ; 
nor is it known whether these data are accurate. 

" The report of the commanding officer of the Dis- 
trict of Texas shows that since I assumed command 
no applications have been made to him, by you, for 
the arrest of criminals in the State of Texas. 

"To this date eighteen cases of homicides have 
been reported to me as having occurred since No- 
vember 29, 1867 ; although special instructions had 
been given to report such cases as they occur. 
Of these, five were committed by Indians, one by a 
Mexican, one by an insane man, three by colored 
men, two of women by their husbands, and of the 
remainder, some by parties unknown — all of which 



380 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

could scarcely be attributable to Order No. 40. If 
the reports received since the issuing of Order No. 
40 are correct, they exhibit no increase of homicides 
in my time, if you are correct that one hundred had 
occurred in the past twelve months. 

" That there has not been a perfect administration 
of justice in Texas, I am not prepared to deny. 

"That there has been no such wanton disregard 
of duty on the part of officials as you allege, I am 
well satisfied. A very little while ago you regarded 
the present officials in Texas the only ones who 
could be safely trusted with power. Now you pro- 
nounce them worthless, and would cast them aside. 

" I have found little else in your letter but indica- 
tions of temper, lashed into excitement by causes 
which I deem mostly imaginary ; a great confidence 
in the accuracy of your own opinions, and an intoler- 
ance of the opinions of others ; a desire to punish the 
thoughts and feelings of those who differ from you, 
and an impatience which magnifies the shortcomings 
of officials who are perhaps as earnest and conscien- 
tious in the discharge of their duties as yourself, and 
a most unsound conclusion that while any persons 
are to be found wanting in affection or respect for 
government, or yielding it obedience from motives 
which you do not approve, war, and not peace, is the 



LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE. 381 

status, and all such persons are the proper subjects 
for military penal jurisdiction. 

"If I have written anything to disabuse your 
mind of so grave an error, I shall be gratified. 

"I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

"W. S. Hancock, 
Major- General Commanding. 11 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Hancock's Policy of Reconstruction too honest for the Carpet-Bag 
element — His Command of the Atlantic Division — Transferred 
to Dakota — Resumes Command of the Military Division of the 
Atlantic — His Political Record. 

THE policy of reconstruction thus boldly laid down 
by General Hancock, based upon bis bigb sense 
of bonor, bis bumanitarian principles, bis respect for 
tbe rigbts of tbe people, and bis Constitutional belief 
in tbe subordination of tbe military to tbe civil 
autbority, wben tbe clangor of war bad ceased and 
tbe sulpburous smoke of battle bad rolled sullenly 
away, could not but be objectionable to tbose wbo 
desired to bold tbe sword of Damocles perpetually 
suspended over tbe heads of tbe defeated ; wbo pro- 
posed to carry tbe camp-fire into tbe Cabinet ; wbo 
relied upon tbe drum-bead courts-martial to super- 
sede trial by a jury of peers ; wbo essayed to turn 
loose upon tbe Soutb tbe vultures of tbe carnage- 
fields and tbe carpet-bag camp followers, wbose in- 
stincts were those of plunder and oppression only. 
Consequently, tbe dominant party in Congress aimed 

(382) 



SUBSEQUENT SERVICES— POLITICAL RECORD. 383 

hostile legislation at him with the intent to make his 
position too irksome and embarrassing to be endured. 
General Grant was brought into this unworthy fight 
by playing on his predilections for his favorite, Gen- 
eral Sheridan, whose course was represented as being 
openly impugned by the change of policy. General 
Hancock speedily had occasion to notice this change, 
and the revocation of some of his orders by General 
Grant was felt as a rebuke, an undeserved one, and 
resented accordingly. He was not, however, to be 
turned from his course while in authority, and he 
wrote to a friend, " nothing can intimidate me from 
doing what I believe to be honest and right." Still, the 
idea of such a conflict to a disciplinarian was un- 
endurable, and on February 27, 1868, he applied to 
be relieved. This request was complied with, March 
16, 1868, and he was assigned to the command of the 
Military Division of the Atlantic. Subsequently, he 
was transferred to the Department of Dakota, where, 
although it was virtually a position of exile, his con- 
stant care, his courteous treatment, and strict integrity 
rendered his services of inestimable value in that 
Territory. Here he remained three years, until the 
death of General Meade, November 16, 1872. He 
then resumed command of the Military Division of 
the Atlantic, with headquarters on Governor's Island, 



384 WINFIELD, THE LAWYERS SON. 

New York, where he has since resided, and to which 
place was telegraphed on June 24, 1880, the news of 
his enthusiastic nomination as Presidential Candidate, 
by the Democratic Convention at Cincinnati. 

The ill-feeling subsisting on the part of General 
Grant towards General Hancock found expression 
at the time of the death of General George Henry 
Thomas, at San Francisco, March 28, 1870, for this 
event left four major-generals in the service. Hal- 
leck had served out a term of duty and Meade pre- 
ferred to remain in Philadelphia, so that the succes- 
sion to the command of the Department of the Pacific 
was between Hancock, the senior, and Schofield, 
the junior major-general. According to precedent, 
Grant should have sent Hancock to the Pacific, but, 
remembering the Louisiana episode, he preferred Scho- 
field. General Hancock always regarded this act 
as a degradation of rank, caused by spite. In April, 
1870, General Sherman wrote to Hancock : 

" The President authorizes me to say to you that it 
belongs to his office to select the commanding gen- 
erals of divisions and departments, and that the re- 
lations you choose to assume towards him officially 
and privately absolve him from regarding your per- 
sonal preferences." 

In reply, General Hancock wrote : 



SUBSEQUENT SERVICES— POLITICAL RECORD. 385 

" The rule that would place a junior major-general 
in a higher grade of command than a senior major- 
general, in time of peace, or which gave all the major- 
generals save one (and he not a junior) divisions, and 
that senior major-general a department with brig- 
adier-generals and colonels, and not allow him a 
choice of a department in his own division, is cer- 
tainly a violation of the principle upon which rank 
is established, as well as the customs of military 
service in all countries governed by law, and would 
equally sanction that the lieutenant-general, who now 
commands a division, might be placed in command 
of a department, while some one or all of the major- 
generals had divisions. As the President leads me 
to believe that, because I have not his personal sym- 
pathy, my preferences for command will not be re- 
garded, notwithstanding my rank, I shall not again 
open this subject." 

As military commander of the Atlantic Division, 
the services of Major-General Hancock, (he is now 
senior major-general of the United States Army,) 
though always actively performed, have not been of 
a nature to call for public notice or description, but 
he has always occupied a prominent position in mil- 
itary and in social circles. He is president of the 
Military Order of the Loyal Legion and of several 
33 Z 



386 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 

other military organizations. The last occasion on 
which he came before the notice of the public in an 
active military capacity, was when he again saved 
his native State from rapine and desolation, this time 
springing from internal sources. This was in July, 
1877, when he came to Philadelphia to take com- 
mand of the troops ordered here for the suppression 
of the riots, and to his promptness, energy, and 
moderation may justly be ascribed the speedy ter- 
mination of that threatening movement. Thus 
again did he earn the lasting gratitude of the citi- 
zens of the Keystone State and of the city of 
Brotherly Love. 

To turn to the political record of General Han- 
cock, we must revert to his "General Orders No. 40," 
and his equally-celebrated letter to Governor Pease, 
which were accepted by the Democracy in 1868 as 
his platform, and one which met with their entire 
approval. Consequently, but not by his own choice, 
he came before the Democratic National Convention 
which met in New York in July, 1868, soon after 
his service in Louisiana, Maine — which State voted 
solidly for him recently at Cincinnati — presenting 
his name, Pennsylvania's candidate at that time 
being Asa Packer. Hancock started with. 33} votes, 
and ran up and down, with no considerable changes, 



SUBSEQUENT SERVICES— POLITICAL RECORD. 387 

till the fifteenth ballot, when he received 79 J, and, 
with lively gains, received 144J on the eighteenth 
ballot, when the Convention adjourned to the follow- 
ing day. The chances at this time were that Han- 
cock would be the choice of the Convention. On 
the nineteenth ballot, taken on the next morning, 
Hancock had 185J ; he reached 142 J on the next, 
and on the twenty -first was back again to 135 J. 
Pennsylvania was voting as a unit for her soldier at 
this time, and had been doing so from the fifteenth 
ballot. On the twenty-second ballot Ohio broke for 
Seymour and effected his nomination, although Penn- 
sylvania stood by Hancock to the last, and was to 
the last supported by South Carolina. The Demo- 
cratic nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania was 
tendered him in 1869, but declined He was again 
a prominent candidate for the presidential nomina- 
tion at Baltimore, in 1872. In the Convention of 
1876, at St. Louis, Hiester Clymer, on behalf of the 
Pennsylvania delegation, again presented General 
Hancock for the nomination. On the first ballot 
he had 75 votes — 58 from Pennsylvania, 2 each 
from Alabama, Iowa, and Texas, 5 each from Loui- 
siana and North Carolina, and 1 from Georgia. On 
the second ballot, when most of the States went for 



388 WINFIELD, THE LA WYER'S SON. 

Tilden, Pennsylvania remained by Hancock with her 
58 votes. 

That for twelve years he has retained the esteem, 
the confidence, and the affection of the great Demo- 
cratic party is an honor of which he might well be 
proud, for during the whole of that time, wherever 
the name of Hancock was heard in Democratic 
gatherings, it was the signal for a burst of enthu- 
siasm or a quietly-uttered warm eulogium, which 
found its vent in the recent Convention and carried 
all by storm, as he was wont to do the works of an 
enemy, with a steady, resistless sweep as "superb" 
as the hero himself. 

Here we must again turn aside and ask the reader 
to visit Cincinnati with us ; take a seat in its Music 
Hall, and listen to the surging swell of applause as 
the name of "Hancock" is made the unanimous 
choice of the Democratic National Convention. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The Cincinnati Convention, which Nominated Major- General Win- 
field Scott Hancock, U. S. A., for President of the United States, 
June 24, 1880. 

PUESUANT to call, the National Democratic 
Convention, to nominate candidates for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President, met in the Music Hall, 
Cincinnati, Ohio, on the morning of Tuesday, June 
22, 1880. The Music Hall began to fill soon after 
eleven o'clock, the seating capacity being perhaps 
about one-half that of the building used at Chicago. 
The platform was at the west end of the hall, and 
there were galleries on the north and south sides. 
These were rilled with spectators, quite a number of 
whom were ladies. The positions for the delegates 
in the body of the hall were indicated by blue silk 
bannerets, edged with gold, and bearing the names 
of the different States. A profusion of bunting dec- 
orated the sides and windows, and a blue canvas, 
bearing the words " Ohio gree^ the nation," hung 
from the centre of the ceiling. The large organ at 
the back of the platform and a military band afforded 
33* (389) 



390 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

plenty of music. Among the decorations brought by 
the delegates were some handsome banners — one of 
dark velvet, with a medallion-portrait of Samuel J. 
Randall ; another with an embroidered owl, indicating 
the Americus Club ; and yet another, with the like- 
ness of Hendricks and the words "Indiana — For 
President, Thomas A. Hendricks." 

Ex-Senator Barnum, of Connecticut, called the 
Convention to order at 12.45 P. M., after which Rev. 
Charles W. Wendle, of the Unitarian Church, de- 
livered the opening prayer, in which he spoke of the 
young Democracy of America as the refuge and 
asylum for the distressed and downtrodden through- 
out the world, the light and hope of the nations, and 
prayed that with an unfaltering hand every unjust 
law on the statute-book might be erased, and our 
political life purged from every evil that keeps back 
the people from the highest measure of virtue and 
happiness. He continued : 

" Above all, let there be an end of all sectional 
divisions and strifes. Let every root of bitterness, 
every occasion of estrangement, be removed, and let 
our whole people, forgetting the things that are 
behind, and pressing^forward to the things that are 
before, be united heart and hand in the bonds of 
mutual confidence and good-will. Help this Conven- 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 391 

tion to choose for leaders, in the approaching and 
honorable struggle, men of large wisdom and expe- 
rience ; of lofty character and irreproachable life ; 
men true and fearless in the hour of trial, yet ardent 
lovers of justice and peace. Enable the members of 
this Convention to rise above all self-seeking, and 
personal preferences, and indiscreet party zeal, into 
the larger sentiment of public good of American 
nationality and human brotherhood. Let them re- 
member that he serves his party best who serves 
God. We ask that our action to-day may be well 
pleasing in the sight of God." 

Under the instructions of the National Commit- 
tee, Mr. Barnum presented the name of Hon. George 
Hoadley, of Ohio, for temporary chairman, which 
was agreed to. Judge Hoadley, on taking his seat, 
made an address, in which, after thanking the Con- 
vention for the confidence reposed in him, he pledged 
himself to the exercise of the strictest impartiality 
in exercising the authority with which he had been 
invested. He alluded to the Convention at St. Louis 
four years ago, and claimed that its nominees, Samuel 
J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks, had been as 
fairly elected as George Washington or James Mon- 
roe, and that, in consequence of their not having 
been inaugurated, "government by the people" in 



392 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

the executive department has been in abeyance since 
March 4, 1877. He closed with the hope that vigi- 
lance would ensure victory to the Democratic prin- 
ciples and the Democratic candidates; that the "mel- 
ancholy days of November " shall be radiant with 
joy, and on the wings of the strong winds of March 
shall be wafted blessings. 

The following were nominated and accepted as the 
remaining temporary officers : 

Mr. F. O. Prince, Massachusetts, temporary sec- 
retary. 

Assistant Secketakies. — George W. Guthrie, 
Pennsylvania ; Charles Kidley, Tennessee ; C. S. 
Dodd, Ohio; O. M. Hall, Minnesota; Major A. 
Orendorff, Illinois; William H. Gill, New Jersey; 
and A. C. Parkinson, Wisconsin. 

Reading Clekks. — Neal S. Brown, Jr., Reading 
Clerk of the United States House of Representa- 
tives; Mark A. Hardin, Georgia; T. O. Walker, 
Iowa; Thomas S. Pettit, of the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; Nicholas M. Bell, Missouri ; James E. 
Morrison, New York ; and H. L. Bryan, Delaware. 

Serge ant- at- Arms. — Isaac L. Miller, Ohio. 

Official Stenographer. — Edward B. Dickin- 
son, New York. 

On motion of Mr. Beebe, New York, the rules of 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 393 

the last National Convention were adopted. Mr. 
Martin, Delaware, offered a resolution for a call of 
the roll by States for Committees on Permanent 
Organization, Credentials, and Eesolutions, which 
was adopted, though Mr. Weed (New York) de- 
sired a roll-call for the presentation of credentials. 
The roll-call was then proceeded with until New 
York was called on the Credentials Committee, 
when John Kelly, who was in the rear of the dele- 
gation, rose and claimed the attention of the Chair. 
This produced, for a time, considerable confusion, 
which, however, was promptly checked by the pre- 
siding officer, who declined to allow the roll-call to 
be interrupted. 

The Committees on Permanent Organization, Eeso- 
lutions, and Credentials were then appointed. 

Mr. Avery, of Massachusetts, moved that when the 
Convention adjourn it be to ten o'clock next morning. 

Mr. Martin, of Delaware, moved an amendment 
to make the hour of reconvening six o'clock that 
evening. 

Mr. Martin subsequently withdrew his amend- 
ment, and Mr. Avery's motion was adopted. 

After some unimportant discussion about Press 
tickets, Mr. Watterson, of Kentucky, presented an 
application, on behalf of the delegates from the Ter- 



394 



THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 



ritories, asking recognition in the Convention, which 
was referred without discussion to the Committee on 
Permanent Organization. 

David A. Wells, of Connecticut, offered the usual 
resolution referring to the Committee on Kesolu- 
tions, without debate, all resolutions regarding the 
platform. Adopted. 

The Convention then adjourned for the day. 

After the adjournment of the Convention, the 
Committee on Permanent Organization organized by 
electing Mr. Martin, of Delaware, chairman, and Mr. 
Dawson, of South Carolina, secretary. The Com- 
mittee by a unanimous vote determined to report to 
the Convention the name of J. W. Stevenson, of 
Kentucky, for permanent president, and the follow- 
ing list of vice-presidents and secretaries : 



Slates. 


Vice-Presidents. 


Secretaries. 


Alabama . 


. CO. Langdon . 


. J. S. Ferguson. 


Arkansas . 


. C. A. Gault . . 


. J. P. Coffin. 


California . . 


. W. C. Hendricks 


. J. B. Metcalf. 


Colorado . 


. Alva Adams . . 


. John Stone. 


Connecticut 


. Curtis Bacon 


. Samuel Simpson 


Delaware . 


. James Williams . 


. A. P. Robinson. 


Florida . . 


. Wm. Judge . . 


. J. B. Marshall. 


Georgia 


. J. R. Alexander 


. . Mark A. Hardin 


Illinois . . 


. H. M. Vanderen 


. . W. A. Day. 


Indiana . . 


. J. R. Slack . . 


. . Rufus Magee. 


Iowa . . 


. . S. B. Evans . . 


. J. J. Snouffer. 


Kansas . . . 


. . W. V. Bennett . 


. . J. B. Chapman. 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 



395 



States. 
Kentucky . 
Louisiana . 
Maine . . 
Maryland . 
Massachusetts 
Michigan . 
Minnesota . 
Mississippi 
Missouri 
Nebraska . 
Nevada . . 
New Hampshire 
New Jersey 
New York 
North Carolina 
Ohio . . 
Oregon . . 
Pennsylvania 
Ehode Island 
South Carolina 
Tennessee . 
Texas . . 
Vermont . 
Virginia 
"West Virginia 
"Wisconsin . . 



Vice-Presidents. 
Henry Burnett . . . 
J. D. Jefferies . . . 
Darius Alden . . . 
Philip F. Thomas . . 
Jonas H. French . . 
Charles H. Richmond . 
L. L. Baxter .... 
W. S. Featherstone . 

B. F. Dillon .... 
R. S. Maloney . . . 
Not named. 

Frank Jones . . . . 
Hezekiah B. Smith .' 
Not named. 
W. T. Dortch . 
J. L. McSweeny 
J. W. Winson . 
D. E. Ermentrout. 
Thomas W. Segar 
M. C. Butler . . 
J. W. Childress . 
Joel W. Robinson 
Nathan P. Bowman 
J. W. Daniel . . 

C. P. Snyder . 
J. C. Gregory . 



Secretaries. 
T. G. Stuart. 
Martin McNamara. 
John R. Redman. 
Morris A. Thomas. 
John M. Thayer. 
A. J. Shakspeare. 
L. A. Evans. 
R. C. Patty. 
N. C. Dryden. 
James North. 

Charles A. Busiel. 
James S. Coleman. 

R. M. Furman. 
C. T. Lewis. 

A. Noltner. 

John Waters. 
J. R. Abney. 
C. L. Ridley. 

B. P. Paddock. 
H. W. McGettrick. 
R. W. Hunter. 

H. C. Simms. 
J. M. Smith. 



The committee then recommended that the secre- 
taries, reading clerks, and sergeant-at-arms of the 
temporary organization be retained. The report con- 
cluded as follows : 

"The committee further report that they have duly 
considered the memorial in relation to the represen- 



396 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION 

tation of the District of Columbia and of the Terri- 
tories, and have heard the arguments of the me- 
morialists, and respectfully commend the following 
resolution : 

" Resolved, That two delegates from the District of 
Columbia, and two delegates from each of the Terri- 
tories, be admitted to the Convention, and have the 
right to participate in debate, and every other right 
and privilege enjoyed by delegates from the States, 
excepting only the right to vote." 

The Committee on Credentials met immediately 
after the adjournment, and was organized by the 
election of P. M. B. Young, of Georgia, chairman, 
and A. Woltner, of Oregon, secretary. The Tam- 
many men met with the committee, but were re- 
quested to withdraw. A delegate from Arkansas 
objected to Smith M. Weed, of New York, sitting as 
a member of the Credentials Committee, inasmuch 
as his own seat was contested. The Chairman ruled 
the objection out of order, as there was no notice of 
the contest before the committee. A long time was 
spent in fixing the length of time for argument. It 
was finally resolved to give each side an hour and a 
half to present its case. The committee then ad- 
journed to meet at seven o'clock. The question of 
admitting Tammany led to a long discussion, and at 
eleven o'clock the committee went into secret session, 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 397 

and at 12.15, by a vote of 32 to 4, Arkansas, Colo- 
rado, New Jersey, and Delaware voting no, voted in 
favor of allowing the sitting delegates from New 
York to retain their seats. 

The Committee on Resolutions elected Henry "Wat- 
terson, of Kentucky, chairman. The committee gave 
a hearing to the advocates of woman suffrage. Susan 
B. Anthony, Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage, Mrs. Lillie 
Deveraux Blake, and Mrs. Marxweather, of Ten- 
nessee, spoke. Henry Watterson presided, and ex- 
pressed himself as very favorable to their request for 
recognition in the platform. Several other members 
avowed themselves in their favor. 

The committee did not reassemble until late in the 
evening, with Henry "Watterson as chairman, and 
John P. Irish, of Iowa, as secretary. 

The representatives of the different States then, 
under a resolution, submitted the resolutions which 
they desired to be incorporated in the platform, and 
one or more were submitted from most of the States. 
They were all referred to a sub-committee of nine, 
appointed by the Chair, and consisting of the follow- 
ing persons : Messrs. Watterson, chairman ; Wells, 
of Connecticut ; Borksdale, of Mississippi ; Myers, 
of Oregon ; Fuller, of Illinois ; Ireland, of Texas ; 
Irish, of Iowa ; Cassidy, of Pennsylvania, and How- 
34 



398 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

ells, of Georgia. The committee then adjourned 
to nine o'clock the following morning, and at half- 
past eleven the sub-committee began its task of sift- 
ing and classifying the resolutions referred to it. 

Second Day's Session, June 23, 1880. 

On Wednesday the Convention was called to 
order, by Judge Hoadley, at 10.45 A. M., and prayer 
was offered by Eev. Dr. Taylor, of Covington, Ky. 
After the prayer, and the presentation of the report 
of the Committee on Permanent Organization, which 
we have given previously, commenced the first fight 
of the Convention, namely, that on the contested 
seats of New York, and this lasted from shortly 
after eleven o'clock until after one o'clock p. M. 

The majority and minority reports of the Com- 
mittee on Credentials were then read. The majority 
report favored the admission of the two delegations 
from the State of Massachusetts, the united dele- 
gation to cast the vote to which the State is entitled ; 
that in the case of Pennsylvania, the sitting dele- 
gates were entitled to retain their seats ; and that in 
the case of the New York contest, the sitting dele- 
gates also be recognized. 

The minority report dealt only with the New 
York contest, and recommended that the Faulkner 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 399 

branch be allowed to cast fifty votes, and the Shake- 
speare Hall branch twenty votes, in the Convention ; 
each division to determine its own methods of count- 
ing such votes. 

By a vote of 316 yeas to 295 nays, the previous 
question was called, and twenty minutes allowed the 
sitting delegates, and forty minutes the contestants, 
to discuss the matter. 

The discussion which followed is hardly of suf- 
ficient importance to occupy our space, the point at 
issue not being vital in view of the fact that it was 
well understood that Ex-Governor Samuel J. Til- 
den had sent a letter of declination, and was not a 
candidate before the Convention. The following 
gentlemen advocated Tammany's claims : George W. 
Miller and Judge Amasa J. Parker of Albany, and 
Governor Hubbard of Texas. John E. Fellows of 
New York, Eufus W\ Peckham of Albany, and P. 
M. B. Young of Georgia, followed for the majority 
report, which was finally adopted by a vote of 457 to 
205 J : so the sitting members from New York re- 
tained their seats, and the Tammany delegates were 
complimentarily invited to the floor. 

This matter having been settled, the report of the 
Committee on Permanent Organization was adopted, 
and, in accordance with it, Governor Stephenson was 



400 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

duly installed as permanent President of the Con- 
vention. On assuming the chair, he made an excel- 
lent address, in which he referred to the days of 
Thomas Jefferson, when then, as now, there were 
men ready to trample upon the popular will ; there 
are men, he said, " who would now attempt, and have 
succeeded, in deposing those who were elevated to 
high offices from enjoying the high confidence given 
to them." He continued : " We enter upon the twenty- 
fourth Presidential election since the organization of 
the Government. You put forward your declaration 
of political faith, as it always has been, as it still is. 
We believe that this is a limited Government, and 
that no power not granted by the Constitution can be 
exercised by that Government. We believe in a free 
press. We believe in a popular education. We be- 
lieve and declare that this people will stand no taxa- 
tion not demanded by an economical administration 
of the Government. But, above all, we believe repre- 
sentation rests on suffrage, and that every suffrage 
must be preserved sacred that every man casts, and 
must be counted ; and that the people who receive the 
majority of these votes must and shall be the officers." 
In conclusion, he said : " Let your nominees receive 
your support, and there will be triumphal joy from 
every delegate and every Democrat." 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 401 

At the conclusion of Governor Stephenson's speech, 
Henry Watterson, of Kentucky, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Kesolutions, announced that they were not 
then ready to report, and they were promptly excused 
by the Convention. After a resolution of thanks to 
Judge Hoadley, the temporary Chairman, had been 
warmly and unanimously adopted, the Convention, 
on the motion of Mr. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 
proceeded to the nomination of candidates. The 
first name presented was that of Judge Field, the 
nomination being made by Mr. McElrath, of Califor- 
nia, and seconded by Mr. Alva Adams, of Colorado. 
Honorable Thomas F. Bayard was then named, amid 
a storm of applause, by Attorney -General George 
Gray, of Delaware, who supported the presentation 
in an able speech. Colonel Morrison, of Illinois, was 
named by Mr. Marshall, of that State. Ex-Governor 
Hendricks, of Indiana, was then put in nomination 
by Senator Dan Yoorhees, and the " Tall Sycamore 
of the Wabash " eloquently presented the claims of 
his candidate, and, en passant, remarked : "I know 
the accomplished jurist of California. I know the 
able and distinguished Senator from Delaware. I 
know the gallant, iron-hearted, brave man from Illi- 
nois, Colonel Morrison. I know them all. I am 
proud to do them honor. Every name thus far is 
34* 2 A 



402 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

worthy of this great presence ; and yet I venture in 
this comparison to announce the name of Thomas A. 
Hendricks." He was interrupted for some moments 
by enthusiastic cheering ; and, when it subsided, he 
continued in a ringing speech, provoking from time 
to time a renewal of the cheering. Mr. Sulstonstall, 
of Massachusetts, then made an excellent speech to 
second the nomination of Senator Bayard. New 
York, by the silent head-shake of Chairman Man- 
ning, indicated that it had no candidate to present. 
Senator Thurman, of Ohio, was next nominated by 
Mr. John McSweeny, of that State, and the applause 
which greeted this presentation was intensified by 
a humorous imitation of Koscoe Conkling's Chicago 
effort, in the following : 

If you ask what State he came from, 

Our sole response shall be, 
" He comes from Ohio-o, 

And his name is Allen Q." 

Shouts of laughter welcomed this happy hit, and the 
Ohio delegation gave him three hearty cheers when 
he resumed his seat. 

Then came the sensation of the day, when Hon. 
Daniel Dougherty, of Philadelphia, presented the 
name of 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 403 

Winfield Scott Hancock, 
of Pennsylvania, in the following polished specimen 
of cultivated oratory. 

" I rise to nominate one whose name would recon- 
cile all factions, whose election would crush the last 
embers of sectional strife and be hailed as the dawn- 
ing of the day of perpetual brotherhood. With him 
we can fling away our shields and wage an aggressive 
war. We can appeal to the supreme tribunal of the 
American people against the corruption of the Re- 
publican party and their untold violations of consti- 
tutional liberty. With him as our chieftain the 
bloody banner of the Republicans will fall from their 
palsied grasp. Oh ! my countrymen ! in this supreme 
moment, when the destinies of the Republic are at 
stake, when the liberties of the people are imperilled, 
I rise to present to the thoughtful consideration of 
this Convention the name of one who, on the field 
of battle, was styled * the Superb,' yet who has won 
a nobler renown as the military Governor, whose first 
act, on assuming command of Louisiana and Texas, 
was to salute the Constitution by proclaiming, amid 
the joyous greetings of an oppressed people, that the 
military, save in actual war, shall be subservient to 
the civil power. The plighted word of the soldier 
was proved in the statesman's acts. I name him 



404 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

whose name will suppress every faction, will be alike 
acceptable to the North and Sonth, and will thrill 
the land from end to end. The people hang breath- 
less on your deliberation. Take heed ! Make no mis- 
step ! I nominate one who can carry every Southern 
State, and who can carry Pennsylvania, Indiana, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York — the 
soldier-statesman with a record as stainless as his 
sword is keen — Winfield Scott Hancock, of 
Pennsylvania. If elected, he will take his seat." 

The applause which followed this speech lasted 
fully five minutes. Then came another burst of 
cheering when General Wade Hampton, of South 
Carolina, took the platform to speak in support of 
Senator Bayakd, as a second seconder. In closing a 
capital address, he said : 

" When the Greeks were returning from a great 
victory, the generals were called upon to vote for the 
two men whom they thought most worthy of honor, 
and the name of Pericles was found on every ballot. 
So the name of Thomas F. Bayakd is always placed, 
if not first, at least second, and we choose to take the 
second man." 

Governor Hubbard, of Texas, then seconded the 
nomination of General Hancock. He said it was 
peculiarly fit that Texas and Louisiana should re- 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 405 

spond to Hancock's nomination, because, when the 
war closed, there came down through the South a 
race of carpet-baggers, like the Yandals of old, prey- 
ing on her wasted substance, and the jails and bas- 
tiles were filled with prisoners by order of the mili- 
tary governors, and then, in that darkness of the 
night, there came a voice, saying, "The war has 
closed ; unbar your dungeons and open your forts." 
That man was Hancock. " It is an easy thing," he 
said, " to be a summer friend. The world and Hades 
are full of them. But this man knew that he was 
in the power of the Eepublican party, and his offi- 
cial head was cut off. That is a man to whom it 
will do to intrust the standard of our party." 

Mr. Stringfellow, of Yirginia, seconded Judge 
Field, and Mr. Goode, of Yirginia, seconded Senator 
Thurman. Then Mr. J. W. Daniels, of Yirginia, 
took the stand for General Hancock, and made a 
stirring speech, closing with a reference to the blue 
and the gray joining in one hurrah for the nominee. 

The roll of States being concluded, Mr. Breckin- 
ridge moved to proceed to a ballot ; but Judge Hoad- 
ley submitted a motion to adjourn, which was, how- 
ever, voted down by a vote of 395 yeas to 317 yeas : 
so the roll-call proceeded. 

There was prolonged applause when Kentucky 



406 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

cast 5 votes for Samuel J. Tilden, and finally the 
result was announced, as follows : 

Delegates. Delegates. 



Randall 6 

Loveland 5 

McDonald 3 

McClellan 3 

Parker 

Black 

Jewett 

English 

Lothrop 



Hancock 171 

Bayard 153J 

Payne 81 

Thurman 68£ 

Field 65 

Morrison 62 

Hendricks 50^ 

Tilden 38 

Ewing 10 

Seymour 8 

Total delegates voting 729J 

Absent 8 J 

Total delegates 738 

It should be here mentioned that each delegate, 
under the Democratic rules, has only half a vote. 
There were 369 full votes in the Convention ; num- 
ber necessary to a choice, under the two-thirds rule, 
246, or the assent of 492 delegates. Of the scatter- 
ing votes cast, no heed need be taken, for it was evident 
that there were but two actual candidates in the field. 

The Convention then, at 6.07 P. M., adjourned until 
10 o'clock on Thursday morning. 

Third Day's Session, June 24, 1880. 
When Thursday dawned, with a lowering sky and 
a sultry atmosphere, it looked upon many who had 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 407 

not troubled the realms of sleep to any great extent. 
As the hour for re- assembling drew near, the dele- 
gates slowly filed into their places, there was an evi- 
dent feeling that the struggle was over, the excite- 
ment of suspense was past. The door-keepers 
retained the platform and press tickets, and every- 
thing around gave evidence of a speedy winding up 
of business. Beneath all this, however, there was a 
suppressed enthusiasm, only kept in bounds by fatigue 
and a desire not to hinder the march of events. 
President Stephenson called the Convention to 
order at 10.35 A. M., and prayer was offered by Eev. 
Dr. Taylor, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South. 

Mr. Peckham, of New York, on behalf of the 
delegation from that State, referred to the votes cast 
yesterday for the Hon. Samuel J. Tilden, and stated 
that the delegation had received a letter from that 
gentleman renouncing all claims and all candidacy. 
He desired to place the letter at the disposal of the 
Convention, and to state that the New York dele- 
gation had agreed upon Speaker Eandall as their 
candidate. On a viva voce vote, the Convention de- 
clined to have the letter read. A resolution intro- 
duced by Mr. Thomas, of Kentucky, denouncing as 
unconstitutional and unrepublican any State law 



408 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

affecting a citizen on account of religions or non- re- 
ligions views, was referred, and the roll-call for the 
second ballot was proceeded with, resulting as 
follows : 

Delegates. Delegates. 

Hancock 320 

Eandall 128J 

Bayard 113 

Field 65£ 

Thurman 50 



Hendricks 31 

English 19 

Tilden 6 

Parker 2 

Jewett 1 



Total delegates voting 736 

Delegates absent 2 

Total delegates 788 

Some difficulty arose when Ohio was called, and 
finally the entire 44 votes were cast for Thurman. 
Meanwhile, before the official announcement was 
made, State after State began to change their votes 
to Hancock, Wisconsin leading off with 20, and 
New Jersey following with 18. Malcolm Hay, of 
Pennsylvania, then cast the entire vote of Pennsyl- 
vania for Hancock amid prolonged cheering. After 
all the changes had been made, the result on the 
amended roll-call was as follows: Hancock, 705; 
Hendricks, 30 ; Tilden, 1 ; Bayard, 2. 

Mr. Mack, of Indiana, moved to make the nomi- 
nation unanimous, and spoke in favor of his motion. 
Speaker Eandall and Senator Wallace of Pennsyl- 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 409 

vania, General Wade Hampton of South Carolina, 
and Judge Hoadley of Ohio then followed in elo- 
quent support of Mr. Mack's motion. 

The Chair then put the motion as follows : " The 
motion has been made that Winfield Scott Han- 
cock be declared unanimously elected the Democratic 
President of these United States. (Great laughter 
and applause.) Those in favor will say aye. (Shouts 
of ayes.) You who are opposed will say no. The 
motion is unanimously adopted, and Hancock is 
elected." 

For a moment or two the humorous blunder of the 
closing sentence was not noticed, but when the Con- 
vention finally caught the full effect of the remark, 
the tumultuous applause and laughter broke forth 
again. The appearance of a transparency with the 
legend, "For President, Winfield Scott Han- 
cock," and the tunes " Dixie " and " Hail Columbia," 
with which the band and the organ enlivened the 
scene, set the entire assemblage on platform, floor, 
and in the galleries wild with enthusiastic excite- 
ment. When order was restored, the tall form of 
Senator Yoorhees was noticed above the excited 
throng, and obtaining the ear of the Convention, he 
spoke boldly for the Democracy of Indiana in favor 
of General Hancock. He claimed that the record 

35 



410 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

of the nominee was not alone to be found on battle- 
fields, for be had uplifted the down-trodden civil 
authorities, he had made a second Declaration of 
Constitutional liberty, and set an example for his 
own, and our future generations of obedience to that 
great framework devised by our fathers, and pro- 
tected by their bravery, and enjoyed by us. 

He was followed by Mr. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 
who also enthusiastically ratified the nomination. 
Just at this point John Kelly, of New York, ac- 
companied by Augustus Schell, Amasa J. Parker, 
George C. Green, and Samuel North — the committee 
appointed by the anti-Tilden delegation to appear be- 
fore the Convention in behalf of Hancock — came 
upon the platform. Mr. Kelly made a speech, in 
which he asked that all discordant feelings be buried, 
and promised to aid the ticket. Mr. Fellows, of New 
York, responded, and at the conclusion of his speech 
he and Kelly shook hands, formally and impressively, 
the band playing " Auld Lang Syne " and the entire 
audience cheering. Susan B. Anthony next attracted 
the attention of the Chair, and presented a printed 
appeal of the Women's Suffrage Association, which 
was read. 

Mr. Watterson, Chairman of the Committee on 
Resolutions and Rules, then reported the following 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 411 

PLATFORM. 

The Democrats of the United States, in convention 
assembled, declare : 

First. — We pledge ourselves anew to the constitu- 
tional doctrines and traditions of the Democratic 
party as illustrated by the teaching and example of 
a long line of Democratic statesmen and patriots, and 
embodied in the platform of the last National Con- 
vention of the party. 

Second. — Opposition to centralization, and to that 
dangerous spirit of encroachment which tends to con- 
solidate the powers of all the departments in one, and 
thus to create — whatever be the form of govern- 
ment — a real despotism. No sumptuary laws; sep- 
aration of Church and State, for the good of each ; 
common schools fostered and protected. 

Third. — Home rule; honest money, consisting of 
gold and silver, and paper convertible into coin on 
demand ; the strict maintenance of the public faith, 
State and national, and a tariff for revenue only. 

Fourth. — The subordination of the military to the 
civil power, and a general and thorough reform of 
the civil service. 

Fifth. — The right to a free ballot is the right pre- 
servative of all rights, and must and shall be main- 
tained in every part of the United States. 



412 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

Sixth. — The existing administration is the repre- 
sentative of conspiracy only, and its claim of right 
to surround the ballot-boxes with troops and deputy 
marshals to intimidate and obstruct the electors, and 
the unprecedented use of the veto to maintain its 
corrupt and despotic power, insults the people and 
imperils their institutions. 

Seventh.— The great fraud of 1876-77, by which, 
upon a false count of the electoral votes of two 
States, the candidate defeated at the polls was de- 
clared to be President, and, for the first time in 
American history, the will of the people was set 
aside under a threat of military violence, struck a 
deadly blow at our system of representative govern- 
ment. The Democratic party, to preserve the coun- 
try from the horrors of a civil war, submitted for 
the time, in firm and patriotic faith that the people 
would punish this crime in 1880. This issue pre- 
cedes and dwarfs every other. It imposes a more 
sacred duty upon the people of the Union than ever 
addressed the conscience of a nation of freemen. 

Eighth. — We execrate the course of this adminis- 
tration in making places in the civil service a reward 
for political crime, and demand a reform by statute 
which shall make it forever impossible for the de- 
feated candidate to bribe his way to the seat of a 
usurper by billeting villains upon the people. 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 413 

Ninth. — The resolution of Samuel J. Tilden not 
again to be a candidate for the exalted place to which 
he was elected by a majority of his countrymen, and 
from which he was excluded by the leaders of the 
Republican party, is received by the Democrats of 
the United States with sensibility, and they declare 
their confidence in his wisdom, patriotism, and integ- 
rity, unshaken by the assaults of a common enemy ; 
and they further assure him that he is followed into 
the retirement he has chosen for himself by the sym- 
pathy and respect of his fellow-citizens, who regard 
him as one who, by elevating the standards of public 
morality, and adorning and purifying the public ser- 
vice, merits the lasting gratitude of his country and 
his party. 

Tenth. — Free ships and a living chance for Ameri- 
can commerce on the seas and on the land. No dis- 
crimination in favor of transportation lines, corpora- 
tions, or monopolies. 

Eleventh. — The amendment of the Burlingame 
treaty. No more Chinese immigration, except for 
travel, education, and foreign commerce, and therein 
carefully guarded. 

Twelfth. — Public money and public credit for pub- 
lic purposes solely, and public land for actual settlers. 

Thirteenth. — The Democratic party is the friend 
35* 



414 THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 

of labor and the laboring man, and pledges itself to 
protect him alike against the cormorants and the 
commune. 

Fourteenth. — "We congratulate the country upon 
the honesty and thrift of a Democratic Congress, 
which has reduced the public expenditure $40,000,- 
000 a year ; upon the continuation of prosperity at 
home and the national honor abroad ; and, above all, 
upon the promise of such a change in the administra- 
tion of the Government as shall insure us genuine 
and lasting reform in every department of the public 
service. 

This platform having been unanimously adopted, 
the Convention proceeded to a roll-call for the nomi- 
nation of a Yice- President. Mr. Pettis, of Alabama, 
presented the name of W. H. English, of Indiana, 
which was speedily made unanimous, and the main 
business of the Convention was at an end. The roll 
was then called by States for nominations for the 
National Committee. 

By this time all were anxious to get away, and the 
usual resolutions complimentary to the President and 
officers of the Convention were submitted and adopted 
without delay. At seven minutes past three o'clock, 
on the motion of Mr. Preston, of Kentucky, the Demo- 
cratic National Convention of 1880 adjourned sine die. 



HANCOCK AND ENGLISH. 



415 



Appendix to Cincinnati Convention, No. 1. 

First Ballot by States, June 23, 1880. 



States. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado.......... 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky , 

Louisiana 

Maine — 

Maryland 

Massachusetts ... 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska , 

Nevada 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey , 

New York 

North Carolina- 
Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia.... 
Wisconsin 






20 
12 
U 



22 
42 
30 
22| 
10| 
24 
16| 
14: 
16 
26 
221 

10I 

16, 

30| 

6 

fil 
10! 
18! 
70 1 
20; 
44; 

6 
58 

8 
14 
24 
16 
10 
22 
10 
20 



10 



121 6 

6 3 
8! 4 
11 
21 
15 
11 
5 
12 



16 

11} 

2 



3 
10 



1 
2 
14 
9 
5 

10 



42 
*6 



30 

2 



H 



44 



5 
10 

5 
12 



70 



10 



? 

28 ... 15 
* ... 1 

11 

9 
10 
3 
3 
1_ 

171 81 38 



416 



THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 



Appendix to Cincinnati Convention, No. 2. 

Second Ballot by States, June 24, 1880. 



States. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts.... 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New York 

North Carolina- 
Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania ... 
Rhode Island.... 
South Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia... 
Wisconsin 



10 



10 



n 



30 



44 



32 



11 



12 



6 
1 

5 

4 

70 



25 
1 



Totals 738 369 65^113 31 50 320 128£ 19 6 




WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 



CHAPTER XL. 

WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

Nominated for Vice-President of the United States by the Cincin- 
nati Convention of 1880 — Sketch of his Life — A Native Indi- 
anian — Early Career — Political Record — Services in Congress — 
The Kansas- Nebraska Bill — Commercial Life. 

WILLIAM H. ENGLISH was born August 27, 
1822, at Lexington, Scott County, Indiana, 
when that was a wild frontier region. His father, 
Elisha G. English, was pioneer emigrant from Ken- 
tucky. Young English attended the common 
schools of his native village, spent three years at 
South Hanover College, studied law, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar when only eighteen years old, 
also to practise in the Supreme Court of the United 
States when only twenty-three. He entered politics 
early, being a delegate to the Democratic State Con- 
vention several years before he came of age, or in 
•the hard-cider-and-log-cabin campaign of 1840. He 
stumped Indiana for the Democratic ticket, and when 
Harrison died, and Tyler succeeded him, young Eng- 

2 B (417) 



418 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

lish was appointed postmaster at Lexington. In 1843 
he was elected Clerk of the Indiana House of Eepre- 
sentatives, and after Polk's election, in 1844, re- 
ceived a treasury appointment at Washington. He 
opposed Taylor's election in 1848, and just before 
his inauguration, Mr. English resigned his treasury 
position in a letter that was widely published. The . 
family was always Democratic, his father and one 
uncle being vice-presidents and two other uncles 
being delegates in the National Democratic Conven- 
tion of 1848. These four English brothers, all Dem- 
ocrats, were members of the respective Legislatures 
of four different States at the same time. Mr. Eng- 
lish was Clerk of the United States Senate Claims 
Committee in 1850, and Secretary of the Indiana 
Constitutional Convention of the same year. In 
1851 he was chosen a member, and then Speaker, of 
the State Legislature, when only twenty-nine years 
old. 

With the close of the long session of the Legisla- 
ture of 1851, in which Mr, English had earned 
golden opinions of men of all parties, he was justly 
regarded as one of the foremost men of their State, 
and the Democrats of his distriot, with great una- 
nimity, selected him for their standard-bearer in the 
race for Congress. In October, 1852, when just 



LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 419 

thirty years of age, lie was elected to the United 
States House of Kepresentatives by 488 majority. 
Mr. English entered Congress at the commence- 
ment of Mr. Pierce's administration, and gave its 
political measures a warm and generous support. 

Mr. English served four terms in Congress — in 
all eight years — immediately preceding the war, 
and that during the entire period as stormy as the 
National Legislature ever experienced. The Kansas- 
Nebraska bill and questions growing oat of its intro- 
duction were among the most prominent and import- 
ant measures that were ever submitted to Congress. 
With these measures he was conspicuously identified, 
and the comprehensive statesmanship then displayed 
gave him a national reputation which subsequent events 
have not obscured. Mr. English, at the time the 
Kansas-Nebraska bill was introduced, was a member 
of the House Committee on Territories, which was 
charged with the consideration of the subject. Pass- 
ing by the question of area and other questions of 
secondary importance, the real question at issue was, 
"Popular Sovereignty," — the right of the people 
to determine for themselves the character of their 
Territorial and State institutions ; and this great ques- 
tion, which underlies the Democratic idea of govern- 
ment, was first sharply defined in the discussion of 



420 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

the " Kansas-Nebraska bill," for the organization of 
the Territories bearing these names, and now sove- 
reign and prosperous States. Mr. English, for pru- 
dential reasons, did not concur with the majority of 
the Committee on Territories in bringing forward 
the Kansas-Nebraska bill, but a majority of the 
committee decided to report it, whereupon Mr. Eng- 
lish, on the 31st of January, 1854, made a minority 
report. Both the House and Senate bill, at the time 
Mr. English made his minority report, contained a 
provision " that the Constitution and all laws of the 
United States which are not locally inapplicable 
shall have the same force and effect within the said 
Territory as elsewhere in the United States," and 
then followed this important reservation : 

" Except the eighth section of the act preparatory 
to the admission of Missouri into the Union, ap- 
proved March 6, 1820, which was superseded by the 
principles of the legislation of 1850, commonly called 
the compromise measures, and is hereby declared in- 
operative." 

Mr. English proposed to strike out this exception 
and insert the following : 

" Provided that nothing in this act shall be so con- 
strued as to prevent the people of said Territory, 
through the properly constituted legislative authority, 



LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 421 

from passing such laws in relation to the institution 
of slavery, not inconsistent with the Constitution of 
the United States, as they may deem best adapted to 
their locality and most conducive to their happiness 
and welfare ; and so much of any existing act of 
Congress as may conflict with the above right of the 
people to regulate their domestic institutions in their 
own way be, and the same is, hereby repealed." 

The agitation of the slavery question continued 
and culminated in Congress upon the proposition to 
admit Kansas into the Union under what was known 
as the Lecompton Constitution, which did not pro- 
hibit the institution of slavery, and it was at this 
period of Mr. English's Congressional history that 
he acquired his widest reputation as a statesman. 
He was firmly opposed to the admission of Kansas 
under the Lecompton Constitution until that instru- 
ment had been ratified by a vote of the people, and 
so true was he to his convictions that he opposed the 
policy of the administration of his own party upon 
the measure. It was the turning-point in the history 
of the country, and the position assumed and main- 
tained by Mr. English in that long and exciting con- 
test was the crowning glory of his Congressional life. 
He was " anti-Lecompton " from principle and not 
from hostility to the administration ; opposition did 
36 



422 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

not intimidate him, dangers did not affright him. 
He shrank from no duty, and while his utterances 
were bold, they were consistent with the right, with 
duty, and with the best interests of the country. 

The Senate saw proper to pass a bill admitting 
Kansas, under the Lecompton Constitution, without 
limit or condition; but this bill, although it com- 
manded the favor of the President and his Cabinet, 
failed to receive the sanction of the House of Rep- 
resentatives. The House, on the other hand, passed 
a bill as a substitute for that of the Senate, but this 
the Senate would not accept nor the Executive ap- 
prove. Thus was an issue formed between great 
co-ordinate branches of the Government, whose 
joint and harmonious action could alone remove 
the dangerous question and give peace to the 
country. 

In this stage of the proceedings, when the whole 
country had about abandoned the hope of a settle- 
ment of the disagreement between the Houses, and 
the angry contest was likely to be adjourned, for 
further and protracted agitation, before a people 
already inflamed with sectional animosities, Mr. 
English took the responsibility of moving to con- 
cur in the proposition of the Senate asking for a 
committee of free conference. The excitement upon 



LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 423 

the occasion had scarcely ever been equalled in the 
House of Representatives. Upon adopting this mo- 
tion, the vote was 108 to 108, but the Speaker voted 
in the affirmative, and the motion carried. From 
this committee Mr k English reported what is known 
as the " English bill," which became the law after a 
struggle of unparalleled bitterness. Under this law, 
the question of admission under the Lecompton Con- 
stitution was, in effect, referred back to the people 
of Kansas, and they voted against it, just as Mr. 
English and almost every one else expected they 
would do. On the final vote, which admitted Kansas 
as a State, he was still a member, and voted for her 
admission. 

After the passage of the " English bill," a very 
determined effort was made to prevent Mr. Eng- 
lish's re-election to Congress, but he was returned 
by a larger majority than ever. There had been no 
change in the boundaries of his district, but his 
career in this, as in everything else, had been up- 
ward and onward, his majority gradually increasing 
at each election from 400 in 1852 to 2000 in 1858; 
and though he had defeated Buchanan's favorite meas- 
ure, the President wrote a letter to him, saying, " I 
omit no opportunity of expressing my opinion of how 
much the country owes you for the ' English ' amend- 



424 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

ment. Having lost the bill of the Senate, which I 
preferred, the country would have been in a sad 
condition had it not been relieved by your measure. 
It is painful even to think of what would have been 
the alarming condition of the Union had Congress 
adjourned without passing your amendment. I trust 
you will have no difficulty in being renominated and 
re-elected. If I had a thousand votes, you should 
have them all with a hearty good- will." As the war 
approached, Mr. English openly disavowed all sym- 
pathy for the rule-or-ruin element of the Democracy, 
and tried to conciliate the factions. Addressing the 
Southern Democratic Congressmen, one day, he said, 
" Looking at this matter from the particular stand- 
point you occupy, it is to be feared you have not 
always properly appreciated the position of the Free- 
State Democracy or the perils which would environ 
them in the event of a resort to the extreme meas- 
ures to which I refer. Would you expect us, in 
such an event, to go with you out of the Union? 
If so, let me tell you frankly, your expectations will 
never be realized. Collectively, as States, it would 
be impossible, and as individuals, inadmissible ; be 
cause it would involve innumerable sacrifices and a 
severance of those sacred ties which bind every man 
to his own immediate country, and which, as patriots, 



LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 425 

we never would surrender." He now retired from 
Congress, and, declining the command of an Indiana 
regiment offered him by the great war-Governor of 
Indiana, Oliver P. Morton, still advocated the Union 
cause. 

At the close of the Thirty-sixth Congress, and 
when in the full meridian of success, never having 
been defeated before the people, and with a fair 
prospect of being advanced to still higher political 
honors, he retired from Congress and active political 
life as an office-holder. As Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Eesolutions at the Convention of 1864, 
which nominated his friend, Michael C. Kerr, for 
Congress from his old district, Mr. English prepared 
and reported a resolution, which was adopted, de- 
claring : 

" That we are now, as we ever have been, unquali- 
fiedly in favor of the Union of the States under the 
Constitution, and stand ready, as we have ever stood 
heretofore, to do everything that loyal and true citi- 
zens should do to maintain that Union under the 
Constitution, and to hand it down to our children 
unimpaired, as we received it from our fathers." 

To these sentiments of loyalty to the Union, Mr. 
English firmly and consistently adhered throughout 
the struggle. His fidelity never wavered, nor did 

36* 



426 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

his doubts ever gain an ascendency over his convic- 
tions that the Union would be preserved. 

At the close of his useful and honorable Congres- 
sional services, Mr. English was confronted with 
the fact that a new departure in his business life was 
inevitable. At this juncture he concluded to embark 
in the business of banking, and, in connection with 
J. F. D. Lanier, of New York, and George W. Riggs, 
of Washington City, he established, in the spring of 
1863, the First National Bank of Indianapolis. This 
bank was among the first organized in the United 
States under the national system, and the very first 
to get out its circulation. Mr. English's connection 
with this bank brought him into great prominence 
as a financier, and in this position, as in other places 
of great responsibility, he displayed consummate 
ability. During the period of his connection with 
the First National Bank, the question of national 
finances excited the profoundest solicitation, and 
engaged the attention of the best thinkers in the 
country. During the entire period of that discussion, 
Mr. English's views were well understood. No 
man's opinions were less equivocal. His knowledge 
of business, of finances, and of the needs of the coun- 
try was comprehensive. He was opposed to infla- 
tion, and as certainly opposed to extreme and hasty 



LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 427 

legislation looking to forced resumption. With re- 
gard to gold and silver as the standards of value, and 
to the absolute necessity of ultimate resumption, no 
man in the country was more pronounced in his 
declarations, — as a result, his financial record is 
without a blemish. Mr. English presided over this 
bank over fourteen years, to the entire satisfaction 
of the stockholders, and then, in 1877, in the full 
meridian of financial success, he resigned the Presi- 
dency and retired from active business, as he had 
years before retired from active politics as an office- 
holder when in the full tide of political success. 
Faithful to every trust, he retained the good opinion 
of his associates then, as he had of his constituents 
when he retired from Congress. He took part in 
political organization at home, but declined to run 
for office, his banking business occupying his atten- 
tion. He has a fine residence in Indianapolis, and is 
a widower with two grown children. His son, W. 
E. English, is a member of the Indiana Legislature, 
where the English family rival the Bayards in win- 
ning family honors. His daughter is married and 
lives in Louisville. Mr. English is described as 
above the average height, with an erect, well-made 
figure. His head is of good size, with regular feat- 
ures. The forehead is high and broad. He is dig- 



428 LIFE OF W. H. ENGLISH, OF INDIANA. 

nified and gentlemanly in his manners, and has a 
pleasing address with all persons. His whole contour 
of face and person would at once attract favorable 
attention in any gathering. 

Such is the man who was selected by the Demo- 
cratic party in Convention at Cincinnati on June 24, 
1880, for the second place on their Presidential ticket. 
A man who has gained unqualified success in every 
phase of his life ; a man who has earned and retained 
the confidence of all with whom he has had social, 
political, or commercial relations ; a man of action 
rather than of speech, for, though a good debater, he 
is remarkable rather for hard logic and practical 
common sense than for the flowers of rhetoric or the 
ponderous periods of oratorical display. Energy of 
character, firmness of purpose, and an unswerving in- 
tegrity are his chief characteristics. In personal 
intercourse he is inclined to be retiring and reserved, 
which might be attributed to haughtiness or pride 
by a stranger, but to an acquaintance or friend he is 
open, candid, and affable. In the private and social 
relations of life he stands "without blemish and 
above reproach." As a business man he has most 
valuable qualities. Without being too cautious, he 
is prudent and conservative. 



CHAPTER XLL 

CONCLUSION. 

WITH a feeling of regret, we approach, the 
conclusion of a congenial task, and write the 
closing passages of a biography of one of Nature's 
noblemen; for it may truly be said of Winfield 
Scott Hancock that such, he is. A pure, honorable 
man ; a Coeur de Lion in battle ; a Bayard in chiv- 
alry ; a Chesterfield in politeness ; and, above all, an 
American citizen- soldier, revering the principles of 
the immortal Declaration of Independence, obedient 
to their commands, jealous of their safety, and de- 
termined that they shall be respected. Of the peo- 
ple and with the people, it is fitting that by the 
people he should be honored. Of the soldiers and 
with the soldiers, it is but natural that by the soldiers 
he should be esteemed almost to adoration, for he 
invariably identified himself with their interests or 
their sufferings, and, with sympathies easily aroused, 
ever strove to alleviate their misfortunes with a 
personal zest, and thus making himself as much the 

(429) 



430 WINFTELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 

friend as the Commander, ensured at once their love 
and their obedience. To this is due that almost 
reckless bravery of his men, leading them to prefer 
death on the field sooner than merit a reproachful 
glance from those blue eyes which could light up so 
eloquently over an act of valor. 

In appearance, General Hancock is commanding, 
being not less than six feet two inches in height, 
well formed, with a graceful carriage, and his hand- 
some features improved, if that were possible, by 
the silvery moustache, which tells something of the 
thirty-five years of military life and its hardships. 
Weighing about two hundred and forty pounds, he 
is a fine specimen of mature American manhood. 
His only son, Russell Hancock, a worthy son of a 
worthy sire, is an enterprising planter in Mississippi. 

Before closing, we must advert to a misstatement 
which, from some hostile source, has recently been 
promulgated, to the effect that General Hancock is 
inimical to the present administration. It is quite 
true that he believed Mr. Tilden had been elected, 
and so told General Sherman; but, acquiescing in 
the decision of the Electoral Commission, he was 
one of the first Major-Generals to pay his respects to 
President Hayes, modestly inscribing in the visitor's 
book, "Winfield Scott Hancock, Major-General 



DEMOCRA TIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE. 431 

U. S. A., by invitation of General Sheeman." 
Law had spoken, and Hancock, the soldier-citizen, 
saluted the law 

Had we space, we might fill many pages with the 
complimentary telegrams from all sources on his 
presidential nomination ; with the eloquent speeches 
of ex-Governor Hendricks, of Senator Thurman, of 
the plucky general and ex-governor Wade Hampton ; 
with the enthusiastic endorsement of General and 
Governor George B. McClellan, of General Al- 
fred T. Pearson, and hundreds of others, Kepubli- 
can and Democratic alike ; but we must conclude, 
and most appropriately, we think, with the reply of 
General Sherman to an interviewer: "I am not 
much interested in politics ; but if you will sit down 
and write the best that can be put in the English lan- 
guage of General Hancock as a soldier and as a 
gentleman, I will sign it without hesitation. 11 

A volume could say no more, and we will not. 



THE END. 



